Sengoku Strays: Another Lost Pup?
by weezerz2490
Summary: What if Kasane wasn't the only girl who had slipped back through time? Will the Sengoku era be able to withstand two girls from the modern era as Oda Nobunaga sets out to conquer and unite all of Japan?
1. Prologue

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled. Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>{Spring, Year 2011, Kyoto—Saionji Temple}<p>

"Ayako!" A thirty-five-year-old Buddhist priest called as he walked through the residential house on the temple grounds.

Saionji Temple was a very small and old temple, not to be confused with its larger and more famous counterpart of the same name. The priest, Himura Isshin, was currently the head priest of the small temple. He had inherited the duty as head priest after the previous head had passed away. There were only a few others living in the temple now. There were three other monks living at the temple now, including Hiroshi, his apprentice. There was also his blonde, hazel-eyed, half-American/ half-Japanese niece, Ayako Louise Himura, although, now that she was no longer living in America, the order in which her name was said had changed. She now went by Himura Ayako Louise. Isshin had adopted her when she was twelve and her family had been in a horrible car accident. Ayako had survived with just a small scar on her arm, but both of her parents had died. Since she had no living relatives on her American mother's side, and Isshin's parents had disowned his brother long ago, Isshin decided to bring the girl here, to Japan, and adopt her, since she had nowhere else to go. The other monks had not been particularly open to the idea of having a girl, especially one who had been brought up as a Catholic and not a Buddhist, living in the temple, but he had put his foot down, and that was that. Ayako had been understandably depressed when her parents had died, but she was a strong child, and recovered beautifully. Part of what had helped Ayako get over her sadness and frustration, was that Isshin had thought her a little hanbojutsu, the art of wielding a hanbo or short staff. The brat was pretty good at it, and in the last four years since he took her in, Ayako had already managed to surpass him in skill. She could even defeat an opponent who was armed with a katana.

"Uwaaah!" Isshin heard Hiroshi cry from outside in the courtyard. SPLASH! "Ayako!" Hiroshi yelled indignantly.

'They must have been sparring again…' Isshin thought.

He slammed open the sliding door and stepped out into the courtyard. Just as he had suspected, the two teenagers had been sparring, and during the fight, Hiroshi had lost his balance and fell into the koi pond. The eighteen-year-old boy was pouting like a disgruntled four-year-old, and he looked like a drowned rat. Ayako was leaning on her short staff for support, trying to control her laughter.

"…" Isshin said as he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on. "I don't know what happened, and I don't care. Ayako, I want you to go clean out the storehouse where we store the temple's old artifacts. Be_ very_ careful. Some of that stuff is hundreds of years old." Ayako didn't think the situation was so funny after she heard that.

"Eh? Why me? Isn't Hiroshi-kun your apprentice and main source of legal child labor?" Ayako said.

"Hiroshi-kun is already going to polish the temple's bell and clean out the main temple until I can see my reflection in the golden Buddha… Once he's dried off and changed, of course." Isshin said without a hint of mercy. Ayako sighed. It had always been like this, ever since she came to the shrine. In order to calm the protests from the other monks, Isshin had told her she would have to earn her keep so that they wouldn't be able to complain against her. Those who don't work, don't eat. So, Ayako had ended up participating in a lot of the chores around the temple, other than the prayers, of course, since she wasn't Buddhist. It had kept the other monks from objecting too much whenever her mischievous streak shined through. She knew that Isshin really did love her like a daughter, even if he didn't show it most of the time.

"Oh, all right! But only because I love you so much, Isshin-_ojii-san_." Ayako said, smiling cheekily as she ran off to clean the storehouse. A vein mark throbbed on Isshin's forehead.

"That brat… she used to be so cute… When did she get so cheeky? How many times do I have to tell her, it's 'Oji-san' not 'Ojii-san.' I'm too young to be an old man." Isshin deadpanned. Hiroshi sweat dropped.

'Blame yourself! She was just a sweet little girl before you corrupted her with your influence, you violent, fake priest!' Hiroshi yelled internally. 'You think I don't know you smoke behind our backs?'

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Ayako's POV

{In The Temple's Storehouse}

Ayako coughed as a huge cloud of dust flew up into her face when she tried to start dusting.

"Ugh! How long has it been since this place was last cleaned?" Ayako said, chagrined. The storehouse was bigger than it looked from the outside. It was full of shelves that were stuffed with miscellaneous items that needed to be sorted through and cleaned.

"This is going to take forever… I wouldn't be surprised if the Ark of the Covenant was buried in here somewhere." Ayako said jokingly. "I guess I'd better get started." Ayako pulled her T-shirt up to cover her mouth and nose as she continued to dust. Everything was going just fine… until she saw '_it'_.

"Gyaaaaah_!_?" Ayako shrieked as she practically _flew_ backwards to get away from the spider that had just dropped down right in front of her face. Her back slammed into the shelf behind her. The shelf started to rock, and fall towards her. "No way_!_?" Ayako cried in disbelief as something long, skinny, and hard rolled off the top of the shelf and bounced off of her head, and she instinctively caught it in her hands. It looked like a fancy walking stick, and it had a round, blue crystal charm tied onto it with a leather cord. It felt heavier than a normal bamboo walking stick though. Before Ayako had a chance to react to the strange item and the chaos around her, the small crystal ball suddenly glowed and a blindingly bright flash of blue light surrounded Ayako.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Isshin's POV

{Just outside the storehouse}

'I guess I should give the brat a hand…' Isshin thought guiltily as he approached the storehouse he had sent Ayako to clean. Nobody had cleaned out that storehouse in _months_. The poor girl had probably turned into one giant dust bunny by now. A bright flash of blue light suddenly shot out of the open windows of the storehouse.

"_!_?" Isshin said in surprise as he started running towards the storehouse, concerned for his niece. "Ayako_!_?" Isshin yelled as he threw open the storehouse's door. The blue light disappeared just as suddenly as it had come, but it wasn't the only thing that was gone. Ayako had disappeared as well. "Ayako…?" Isshin said, stunned. His niece had definitely been in there. One of the shelves had been knocked over. Isshin noticed one of his master's favorite items, an antique wooden box from the Sengoku era, had been smashed in the fall. Isshin knelt down to pick the pieces of the box up, but froze when he saw the contents that had been spill out of it. "This is…_!_? It can't be!" Isshin said, stunned. The key to the lock on that box had been lost long ago, and it's contents forgotten, but now that the box was destroyed, the five hundred-year-old secret it had hidden… had finally been revealed.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

For those of you who are wondering, I based Isshin's personality on the character Sanzo from the anime _Saiyuki_. He kind of looks like Sanzo physically too, only he has brown eyes and black hair since he's pure Japanese.

The joke, or rather the bad pun I made, where Ayako called Isshin 'Ojii-san' with two I's instead of 'Oji-san' with one, is that although they might sound similar to the untrained ear, Ojii-san = old man and Oji-san = uncle.


	2. A Volunteer Is Worth 20 Pressed Men

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>[April 10th, 1552 (Tenbun Year 21]<p>

{Owari, Nagoya Castle}

Nobunaga POV

"Hmph." A young Oda Nobunaga said, bored, as he played with one of the stray cats he had picked up.

The cat was mewing and purring happily as the nineteen-year-old lord of Owari scratched it behind its ears. Nobunaga was currently waiting for his hawk, Tenrou to return. He had sent the hawk out earlier so that he could confirm some rumors he had heard. If his hunch was correct, he would have to gather the troops and prepare to put down a betrayer. It was about time he made his move anyway.

'How troublesome…' Nobunaga thought.

Most of the soldiers were only following him because they had served his father. In fact, some of them had actually had the guts to quit after his father had died. Though it meant he had less troops, Nobunaga felt it was for the best anyway. If they weren't willing to follow him, it was better if they left now, rather than try to betray him later. He didn't need things that he couldn't use. A flash of bright blue light suddenly filled the room. Nobunaga dropped the cat and drew his sword. The young lord never left himself vulnerable, despite his reputation for being a fool. The light dimmed and faded, revealing a very confused and strange looking girl that was now sitting on the floor of his room in a daze.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at the girl, taking in every detail about her. The girl was clearly a foreigner, with her golden hair, pale skin, and strange eye color, but she also had some facial features that hinted at a Japanese ancestry, except for her larger than average eyes. She was also wearing a style of clothing he had never seen before. The girl's colorful eyes were slightly dull, as though she were in a trance. "Girl." Nobunaga said firmly, commanding her attention.

Ayako POV

Ayako snapped to attention when she heard a deep and commanding voice. Ayako looked in the direction the voice had come from. She blinked in surprise. Standing in front of her, was a boy who only looked a few years older than her, probably somewhere around nineteen, and he was pointing a Katana at her.

'This day just gets better and better…' Ayako thought, sweat dropping. Once she had gotten over the shock of having a sword pointed right between her eyes, by someone other than her uncle, Ayako noticed that the boy was wearing traditional Japanese clothing, including hakama. He had a long, flowing mane of wild dark-brown hair that had been pulled up into a half ponytail, and he had strong and intelligent face, with sharp, piercing eyes. He reminded her of a lion stalking its prey. She was also not in the storeroom anymore, but the place where she was currently, was also built in a traditional Japanese architectural style.

"Who are you, and how did you manage to get into this room, girl?" the dangerous boy said in the same no-nonsense tone she had heard him use before. She didn't like being talked down to, but since he was the one with the sword, she decided to let it slide… just this once. She could tell this boy—no, he might be young, but he was definitely more than just your average teenage boy—this man, was not an opponent she would be able to easily overpower.

"… My name is Himura Ayako Louise. I used to go by Louise, but you can just call me Ayako, since it's easier for someone who speaks Japanese to pronounce. As for how I got here… I honestly have no idea. Where is 'here'? Is it close to the Saionji temple in Kyoto? And, if you don't mind my asking, who are you?" Ayako said.

'A temple in Kyoto…?' Nobunaga thought. "This is no temple, girl. You are currently within my Nagoya castle, in Owari. I am Oda Nobunaga, the lord of Owari." Nobunaga said, answering her questions, but still not lowering his sword. Ayako gaped at the young lord in shock, stunned.

"…D-Did you just say 'Nobunaga'?" Ayako asked in disbelief. Not only had he just claimed to be _the_ Nobunaga, but he had said they were in Owari. 'Why did he call the Aichi Prefecture by such an obsolete name… he's not a few fries short of a happy meal, is he…?' Ayako thought, worried she was either dealing with a crazy person, was dreaming after watching too many SciFi films, or had somehow traveled back in time… whatever it was, she hoped she hadn't lost _her _mind. "As in the 'kicking–ass–and–taking–names' military genius Oda Nobunaga of the Sengoku—I mean, wait, your about nineteen, so this would be, what… 1552?" Ayako asked. Nobunaga stared at Ayako.

"That's not how people usually refer to me." Nobunaga said. Ayako sweat dropped nervously.

'Uh-oh… did I insult him because I was too overly familiar…?' Ayako thought, worried she might have just signed her own death warrant. "Well… what do they usually say?" Ayako asked, keeping her voice even, not giving away how nervous she was. Nobunaga smirked. He thought this girl was rather interesting. Most people, especially women, would usually show more fear when being held at sword point. Her manners could use some work, but some of that could be excused since she was a foreigner.

"Hmph, they usually call me a fool." Nobunaga said. He seemed more amused than angry. Ayako raised a skeptical eyebrow at the young lord.

"… Have they met you? Because that impressive and dignified aura you give off doesn't really give me that impression… If anything, I feel like I'm being stared down by a cunning predator." Ayako said frankly. She definitely wasn't trying to be a kiss-up. That kind of person had always annoyed her. It was just her honest opinion based off of the few minutes she had been in his presence. She would have come to that conclusion even if she hadn't sort of paid attention in history class, and already knew that this young lord would continue on to unite most of Japan before his death.

Normal POV

Nobunaga didn't like kiss-ups either, but he could tell Ayako hadn't meant it that way. The girl was speaking seriously. Over the years, Nobunaga had let everyone think he was a fool in order to survive. After all, he grew up in a time when, if your enemies thought you had even a drop of military talent, they would try to take your head before you could grow up enough to become a challenge. He had even managed to fool his closest attendants, but this girl had seen through him in an instant. She was a good judge of character.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said, amused. "Girl, you said you are called Ayako?" Ayako nodded. "Tell me, Ayako, why did you think this might be a temple?" Nobunaga said as the cat he had been playing with earlier wandered over to Ayako's side and began purring and playfully rubbing up against her. Ayako smiled at the cat pet it. Nobunaga still hadn't lowered his sword, but she figured the fact that he had bothered to finally use her name meant that she was relatively safe, for now. 'Hmm… that cat has never taken a liking to anyone other than me before…' Nobunaga observed.

"This is probably going to sound crazy, so I'll completely understand if you don't believe me, but please trust me when I say it's the truth. If I was going to lie to you, I'd tell you something much more believable." Ayako said honestly. "Just a few moments ago, before I somehow ended up here, I was cleaning out the storehouse of a small temple my uncle runs in Kyoto. We keep all the old artifacts that have been entrusted to the temple over the years in there." '… Though after seeing how low-kept that particular storehouse was, I can't imagine why anyone would want to entrust them with _anything_…' Ayako thought, remembering all the dust and clutter. "I have a severe and irrational fear of spiders, and when one dropped down, right in front of my face, I panicked, and bumped into the shelf behind me. The shelf started to fall on me, but then this walking stick fell on my head, and I caught it out of reflex. That charm began to glow, and then a bright blue light surrounded me, and I found myself here." Ayako explained, pointing to the walking stick. She didn't want to cause a misunderstanding by reaching for it, since the walking stick could be used as a weapon in a pinch. She noticed the crystal ball wasn't as blue as it had once been, like some of the color had faded out of it. She glanced at Nobunaga to see how he was taking the news. He wasn't looking at her like she was insane, so that was a good start… but then again, he had seen the blue light for himself. Ayako hadn't even gotten to the whole 'I'm from the future' part yet. She wasn't sure how much she should tell him.

Ring~! Ring~! Ring~!

Ayako face-palmed. Her cellphone alarm just _had_ to go off now, of all times.

'I knew I should've kept that thing set on silent…' Ayako thought.

"What is that?" Nobunaga asked as the phone's alarm continued to ring. The young lord hadn't even flinched at the sudden and foreign sound that had suddenly started coming from the girl's direction.

"… It's my cellphone… a type of device used to communicate with other people. It can also keep track of time, and remind me when I have something I need to do." Ayako explained, deciding she didn't want to die over such a stupid thing. "If I don't stop it, it'll just keep ringing."

"Hmph. Very well, but do not make any sudden movements." Nobunaga warned her.

"Okay." Ayako said as she slowly and cautiously removed the cellphone from her jean's pocket and silenced it. She was about to put it away, when Nobunaga held one his hands out in front of her, expectantly.

"Give it to me." Nobunaga said. He was curious about the strange, black, rectangular, and thin device. He had never seen anything like it before. Ayako froze, like a deer caught in the headlights. She didn't want to anger the man that was pointing a sword at her, but she had seen enough movies to know that giving future technology to someone from the past, was usually a very bad idea, because it could have adverse affects on the timeline.

"… I'm not sure I should." Ayako said honestly, and glanced up cautiously at the young lord to gauge his reaction.

"What do you mean by that?" Nobunaga asked. He didn't look particularly homicidal yet.

"… I didn't tell you the _really_ crazy part about this whole thing yet." Ayako said. "I'm actually from an era that's about five hundred years in the future… This technology shouldn't even exist in this time period, so I'm worried about what adverse side-affects showing it to _anyone_ in this era could have. For example, if I change even the smallest detail, I might somehow trigger a series of events that could prevent me from even being born." Ayako sighed and held her head in frustration. Time travel was a whole cornucopia of disturbing concepts.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at Ayako. She was right. This was crazy. Not only had a girl just appeared out of thin air, but she was also from the future. From what she had said, this girl shouldn't even exist yet, but here she was, sitting right in front of him. He could tell she really wasn't lying to him though, and he had to admit, she had evidence to support her story. He had seen her mysterious arrival with that glowing blue light for himself, and her strange clothing and that black device were things he had never seen before too.

"So, from what you have told me, you have no idea how you got here, and no idea how to get back to your own time." Nobunaga said. "I shall give you shelter, for now, if you let me see that black device. I will return it to you once I have satisfied my curiosity." Ayako stared back at Nobunaga, debating whether or not she should accept his offer. She sighed in defeat and handed over the phone. She didn't really have any other option that wouldn't just get her killed in the end. She could try to force her way out of the castle, but even if she succeeded, she didn't know how to survive on her own in this era.

"Thank you for your gracious offer, Lord Nobunaga." Ayako said as she bowed politely. 'Honestly, I'm lucky he didn't just lob off my head when he first saw me… I appeared in such a suspicious way, and during such turbulent times too…' Ayako thought.

"Hmph." Nobunaga said, pleased she had decided to cooperate. He could always force her, but it would be a pity if he had to kill such an interesting person so soon. If she knew what was to come, she could prove to be extremely useful. Nobunaga took the phone from her and started examining it and playing with it. It was a strange device, indeed. All he had to do was touch an image, which Ayako called an 'icon' on the glowing surface of the device, and a new 'program' would open, each with a different function. It was as though the device could tell what he was thinking, like magic. Nobunaga finally put his sword back into its sheath. He sat down in front of Ayako, and held the phone out, in front of her face. "Girl, Ayako, how does this device work?" Nobunaga asked curiously. "Tell me about your era."

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{One very mentally exhausting and mind-blowing conversation later…}

"I see. Much has changed over the centuries." Nobunaga said thoughtfully as he digested all the information Ayako had just told him.

Of course, Ayako only told him things about the _very_ distant future, and only about technologies that were too advanced for her to have to worry about him being able to 'invent' before their proper times, and she had, fortunately, managed to convince Nobunaga not to force her to act as his Sengoku era 'cheat sheet' by explaining that it could do him more harm that good. If she helped him change one thing, then it could throw off the whole timeline, and she wouldn't be able to tell him what would happen after that anyway. It had probably helped that she had subtly hinted that he would be successful in the unaffected timeline that she had come from. Plus, she had gotten a C in history anyway, so she wasn't exactly a reliable source of information. Ayako had never gotten a C in anything before, but the teacher had just made the class sooo boring, that Ayako had hated it on principle and completely lost any interest in the class.

Nobunaga had decided it would be more interesting not knowing the answer in advance anyway. The young lord had been somewhat impressed by Ayako's own personal history too. Since he was allowing her to stay in his castle, he had insisted she tell him about herself as well. Like him, she had lost her parents at a young age, but his mother was still alive. Ayako was rather resilient and strong for someone so young, after all, she had only been twelve at the time. She still looked young, but Ayako had told him that she was sixteen now. She was just short and had a baby face. If you looked past them, you could tell that although she was small, her body was as mature as the average sixteen-year-old girl. She had also been taught how to read, write, and fight. Even if she could not tell him the future, this girl could still be useful to him. She would not be a complete waste of space. He was about to ask what she was planning to do from now on, but she beat him to it.

"Lord Nobunaga, as you have said, I currently have no way to return to my home and nowhere else to go. You have already done me a huge favor by offering me a place to stay, but I have one more favor to ask of you… Please allow me to serve as a soldier." Ayako said, bowing respectfully as she waited for the young lord to answer her. This girl just continued to surprise him.

"… You mean to say you will become a citizen of this province?" Nobunaga asked.

"No, I won't." Ayako said frankly. "I still haven't given up on finding a way to return to my own time yet, and I don't want to just live on your mercy. I was raised on the principle that 'those who don't work, don't eat.' So that I don't lose sight of my goal, or myself, and to live in this world, I will fight. I will gladly work to earn my keep, and I am fully aware of what following you into war will mean. In these turbulent times, even those who do not wield a sword can still die upon one. Since that is the case, I would rather fight than live in fear. However, it is against my religion to kill, so I cannot guarantee that I will be able to take a life on command, but I have no intention of letting myself be killed, nor do I intend to let harm come to the people I view as comrades. I will not hesitate to come to your aid. If you can accept these terms, then you can consider me your ally." Ayako said, looking up at the lord of Owari as she spoke. Nobunaga could see the resolve and determination burning in her eyes. Nobunaga stared at Ayako, contemplating her words.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said, laughing in amusement and smirking like the Cheshire cat. "Interesting, I'll look forward to seeing what you can do."

'Eh…? Why do I feel like I just sold my soul…' Ayako thought a little nervously. No matter, she wouldn't go back on her word. Ayako smirked back at him. "Just don't be too surprised when you do." Ayako said, smiling cheekily.


	3. What Happens Once, Will Happen Again

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>[April 17th, 1552 (Tenbun Year 21)]<p>

The pounding of a galloping horse's hooves beating against the dirt road was heard as a soldier rode in to deliver his report.

"Reporting, Sir!" The soldier said as he dismounted and knelt before his lord. "The Nagoya troops have marched from Nakane through Konarumi. They've set up formation to the west of San no Yama."

"They've arrived_!_? Have our troops sortie at once!" Ordered the master of Narumi Castle, Yamaguchi Noriyoshi. "We'll set our battle lines east of San no Yama! The decisive battle will be at Akatsuka!"

"Yes, Sir!" The men shouted as they followed their leader to battle.

"Show me what you can do! For a new ruler of Owari…!" Yamaguchi said quietly, thinking out loud.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

A young ruler with wild, untamed hair, and a spirit to match, rode on horseback, his back straight and proud as he lead his soldiers to meet the enemy.

[It was truly an era of warring states. When I stop and consider that an average person's life span is fifty years… I can't help but think that my remaining thirty-four years are too few. Be it a dream, an illusion, or a slip in time… I am proud to have lived… with them.]

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

[Spring, 2011, Hokkaido]

WHAM!

"Good one! Finish her off! Just one left!" The opposing team's captain cheered as their team member took another hit.

"Haaah…" The girls sighed heavily. They were losing hope fast.

"Hey, you!" Their captain yelled as she bopped them on the heads with a rolled up flyer.

"Ow!" The girls said.

"Hachiya!" The girls cried in surprise when they saw their captain. "What are you doing_!_? Why aren't you cheering her on_!_?"

"Even if you say that… Just look at the match line up. Our first opponent in the spring high school kendo competition is the old champs, Aoba! And with you out with an injury, that leaves us with four members." One girl pointed out. "No matter how hard we try, we don't have a prayer!"

"That's why you have to cheer! We've still got our 'general.'" The captain said, smirking.

"Sorry, Kusanagi. Your turn now, general." The girl who just lost her match said as she removed her face guard. "I don't want them to get it all, so if you could at least get one…"

"Eh? Why one?" Kusanagi asked, confused as to why they only wanted her to beat one.

"Why one…?" Her teammate asked, sweat dropping.

"Heeeey!" Hey, Sis!" Kusanagi's two little twin brothers yelled as they waved at her.

"Oh! Masamune! Kotetsu!" Kusanagi said.

"Go for it, Kasane!" Kotetsu cheered.

"Beat all five! All five! Piece of cake!" Masamune cheered.

"All five… As if it were that simple…" Her teammate said. Kasane Kusanagi clenched her fist excitedly.

"Don't worry! I'll win! _I'll win!"_ Kasane said as she stepped up to take her turn in the match.

"The girl's 'general'… isn't she just a freshman? I heard her home is an iado dojo or something, but how come a freshman id the 'general'?" One of the guys on their school's boy's kendo team asked.

"Strength, technique, style… pick any of those, and she stands out far above the rest. And that's not even all I'm expecting from her." The captain said. Kasane exhaled as she prepared herself to face her opponent. "Just watch this fight, and you'll see!" Kasane slapped her hands against both her cheeks to psych herself up for the fight.

"Fighters, step forward!" The announcer shouted.

"Kenjou High freshman, Kusanagi Kasane, present!" Kasane shouted enthusiastically and put her face-protecting mask on.

"Begin!" The announcer yelled.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"But you were so cool! You won five in a row!" Kotetsu said enthusiastically as the three siblings walked home from the match. The two little brothers walked beside their big sister as she pushed her bike along.

"Really? I guess I did." Kasane said, smiling bashfully and rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah!" Kotetsu said, smiling back.

"You shocked both your friends and opponents! Their jaws hit the floor!" Masamune said. "Except your captain, she just looked up with a weird smile on her face and laughed, saying 'Ahaha! Just as I expected!'"

"The captain's always like that. I think it's funny." Kasane said, smiling wryly. "But now we've gotten through the first match of the spring tournament! I have to go back to my part-time job tomorrow, too. I'm going to blaze through the next match the exact same way!" Kasane said brightly, determined to win.

"Yeah~!" Her brothers cheered.

"If you get into the national championships like this, a whole bunch of folks will go join Grandpa's dojo!" Kotetsu said.

"Oh! You're such an optimist, Kotetsu!" Kasane said with approval. "Right now it's just a small dojo, but one day, I'm going to inherit both the house and the dojo, and it's my dream to make it much, much bigger!"

"Considering Gramps, you aren't going to be inheriting it anytime this century." Masamune said, sighing. "He's never going to retire."

"That's the thing, Masamune!" Kasane said, clenching her fist in determination. "I've got to show them what I've got so people will acknowledge me. I have to stick to it until he tells me I'm good enough! And that'll be it!"

"Hello." A mother and her daughter greeted them as they walked by.

"Hi there!" They all said enthusiastically as they whipped their heads around to greet the mother and daughter.

[Kusanagi family rule: Always greet people with energy.] Kasane noticed her little brothers were staring after the mother and daughter as they walked away.

"Mom, those guys were really energetic!" The little girl said happily.

"They were, weren't they?" Her mother said, smiling. Kasane pulled her brothers into a hug.

"Since mom and dad are gone… Masamune, Kotetsu, you guys have to grow up big and strong." Kasane said, smiling gently.

"Sis." Masamune said.

"Just leave everything to me! I'll take care of you guys, the house, and the dojo!" Kasane said, smiling confidently.

"Yeah…" Masamune said, determined.

"We'll help out too!" Kotetsu said.

"You're such good boys…" Kasane said. She was so touched, a river of tears were flowing down her face as they all hugged. "Alright, Masamune, go blaze through the grocery store!"

"Yeah! You got it! I already know what's on sale!" Masamune said.

"Ah! Look here, Kasane. The news." Kotetsu said, pointing at a television in a store's window display.

"Hm? 'Vanished'…?" Kasane said as she read the news caption.

"Ah! They still haven't found that kid." Masamune said.

"Hm?" Kasane said.

"Look, you remember that small temple we visited way back with mom and dad?" Kotetsu asked.

"Oh, Saionji temple? The one with that cranky priest?" Kasane asked.

"Yeah, his niece went missing a few days ago, and hasn't been found yet." Kotetsu said.

"Really…? You know a lot, Kotetsu." Kasane said. "But missing… That kid must be lonely…" Kasane said.

"If it were you, you'd find a way home no matter what!" Masamune said.

"I hope they find that kid soon." Kasane said as they started to walk away.

"Yeah." Masamune said.

VROOM! THUNK. THUNK.

Kotetsu paused when he heard a loud noise and turned around to see a katana lying in the middle of the street. It looked really old, and it had a pretty round, blue crystal charm tied to it.

"?" Kotetsu said. 'A sword…?' he thought. Kotetsu glanced around, looking to see where it had come from. They were close to an antique shop. 'Did it fall off of that shop's van?' Kotetsu leaned down and picked up the sword. "Hey, Kasane, Masamune." Kotetsu said. "I found this weird sword here—"

SCREEEECH! Tires squealed as the speeding truck driver tried to slam on the breaks as he hurtled towards Kotetsu.

"Kotetsu!" Kasane and Masamune screamed. Kasane dropped everything and ran towards her brother.

'Ah, those are the Kusanagi kids…' Kasane's kendo team captain thought as she came around the corner. "…_!_?" She said when she realized what was happening. Kasane jumped. When it happened, it lasted just a few seconds. Kasane grabbed Kotetsu, cradling him in her arms as she tried to shield her brother from the oncoming truck.

HOOOOONK!

"Kusanagi Kasane!" The captain yelled.

"Sis!" Masamune screamed.

CHING. The sword came loose, and was drawn slightly from the hilt, but it was enough. A blindingly bright flash of blue light radiated from the sword. Masamune had to shield his eyes. He heard the screech of the tires as the truck driver slammed his wheel to the side in an attempt to avoid the blue light.

"There's a car crash! Quick, someone call an ambulance!" One of the onlookers cried.

'What_!_? What was that blue light…?' The captain wondered.

"Are you okay, Kotetsu_!_?" Masamune cried as he rushed to his miraculously unhurt brother's side.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine…" Kotetsu said. "But, Masamune! Where's Kasane…_!_?" The two brothers looked all around, but there wasn't any sign of their sister.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

[Right then, no one had realized it yet, but… in those few seconds… Kasane's life, like Ayako's, had taken a huge turn—]

Kasane lay face down in the grass, still clutching the mysterious sword Kotetsu had found. The crystal sphere had lost all of its color, and it had cracked. In her dazed state, Kasane could hear loud thudding noises approaching them, and she could feel the ground shaking.

'Hm? What…? The ground is kind of shaking… is this an earthquake?' Kasane wondered. That thought snapped Kasane out of her daze. "Earthquake_!_?" Kasane cried in surprise and disbelief as she shot up into a sitting position. Two large horses, bearing armored riders galloped past her. They had been the source of the 'earthquake.'

"Hah!" One of the riders called out to his horse.

"… Uh." Kasane said, stunned. 'Horses_!_?' Kasane screamed internally, breaking out into a nervous sweat, confused. "Wh-What's going on_!_? Wh-What happened…_!_?" Kasane yelled as she started to panic and began running through the tall grass. Kasane heard the cry of a hawk. She looked up and saw the hawk flying through the sky. She was standing on a ridge that overlooked a village scene that was straight out of the ancient Japan. Kasane wobbled, her legs starting to give out from shock. 'Wh—Where am I…?' Kasane wondered, shocked. "Oh! Wait, what about Kotetsu…_!_? Masamune! Kotetsu!" Kasane yelled, worried about her younger brothers.

"Who's there_!_?" Kasane heard a man ask from behind her. Kasane turned to see two armored samurai standing behind her.

"_!_?" Kasane said in surprise.

"A woman…_!_?" The one wearing a band wrapped around his forehead said. "Did you escape from the burning village?"

"What, did you think you could take refuge in the mountain?" The one holding a huge spear asked.

'What…? These guys…' Kasane thought.

"Your home is gone. Where were you going to run?" The man with the spear said as he reached out and grabbed Kasane's wrist. "Now, come to the castle with us—"

"Eeeek_!_?" Kasane shrieked in surprise and fear. She wrenched her hand out of his grip and ran for it.

"Ah! Hey, you!" The headband guy yelled after her.

'What is this_!_? What's going on! Is this some kind of joke_!_?' Kasane thought as she ran for her life. The two soldiers smirked at eachother, and the guy with the spear hurled it towards Kasane. It slammed into the tree in front of her.

"Eeek!" Kasane cried as she ducked and covered her ears.

"What a pain." Headband man said.

"If you want to blame someone, blame your ruler for allowing himself to be so skillfully betrayed." The spearman said.

'What…? Just what's going on here_!_?' Kasane thought. 'Masamune! Kotetsu…!'

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Kasane stared numbly out of the cell she had been locked up in.

'What now…? Just what is this place… how did I end up here alone…?' Kasane thought. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she started to panic. The other women that had been captured watched as Kasane staggered to her feet. "L-Let me go home…!" Kasane said as she stepped forward to try to talk to the soldier that was guarding them. Unfortunately, she tripped on a rock and fell. Kasane's head slammed into the wooden grill of their cell door.

BAM!

"Ah! A-Are you okay?" A pigtailed young lady asked timidly.

"… No…" Kasane said, stunned.

"Eh?" The girl said, concerned.

"… No, it doesn't hurt…" Kasane said. As her heart beat rapidly in her chest. Kasane finally took a good look at her surroundings. All of the women in the cell with her were dressed like peasants from ancient Japan, and all of them, including Kasane, had had their hands bound with rope by the guards when they were captured. 'Huh…? Why is everyone wearing weird clothes…?' Kasane wondered.


	4. Jail Break!

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>_  
><em>

_"Ah! A-Are you okay?" A pigtailed young lady asked timidly._

_"… No…" Kasane said, stunned._

_"Eh?" The girl said, concerned._

_"… No, it doesn't hurt…" Kasane said. As her heart beat rapidly in her chest. Kasane finally took a good look at her surroundings. All of the women in the cell with her were dressed like peasants from ancient Japan, and all of them, including Kasane, had had their hands bound with rope by the guards when they were captured. 'Huh…? Why is everyone wearing weird clothes…?' Kasane wondered._

* * *

><p>'I don't know where I am." Kasane thought, starting to have a panic attack. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest and hear the blood pumping in her ears. 'Who are these people? Where did Masamune and Kotetsu go…<em>!<em>?' Kasane had broken out into a cold sweat. She clenched her fists… and then, it dawned on her. "All this… Don't tell me… I'm dreaming…?" Kasane said out loud as she looked at the other women. "Th-That's… it… otherwise, it doesn't make sense… The three of us were on our way home from the match… so there's no way I could just suddenly get taken off to a jail like this…! That's right, I'm dreaming… Yeah!" Kasane mumbled to herself as she tried to piece together what she knew. The women with her exchanged worried glances. They were clearly worried about her mental health, but Kasane didn't notice. "Wow! Yep, it's a dream! Phew! Thank God! Haha, really! Here I was getting desperate!"

"Excuse me." The pigtailed woman said as she gently patted Kasane's shoulder. Kasane flinched.

"Eeeek_!_?" Kasane yelped in surprise, startled.

"Ah… I-I'm sorry…" The pigtailed woman said.

"N-No… I'm sorry. That felt so real, it scared me… What is it?" Kasane said as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.

"Nothing, I just thought you might be hurt… since you hit your head…" The pigtailed woman said.

"My good health is my best feature!" Kasane said, smiling radiantly.

"Oh, really…?" The pigtailed girl said, sweat dropping. 'But before she was…'

"Humph. A 'dream'… huh. I can see why you'd want to believe that. Since all of us are going to be _sold_." Another, more mature woman with a beauty mark on her face, said.

"S… Sold…?" Kasane said.

"Yeah. Because the masters here, the Yamaguchi's betrayed the province." Beauty mark woman said.

"…?" Kasane said, confused. "What do you mean?"

"A new lord just recently inherited the position of ruler of Owari, our province." Pigtails explained. "Yamaguchi Noritsugu and Noriyoshi were governors here at Narumi Castle, but… the moment our previous lord, whom was well respected, passed away, they went to the neighboring province and surrendered this territory. Soldiers invaded this land and destroyed our village."

"Destroyed…! Your homes too…_!_?" Kasane said.

"Not only our homes, but our fields and wells were also burnt. We're allowed to live for now, but that's just so we can be sold off to our enemies and work until we die." Beauty mark said.

"Ugh…" Pigtails sobbed and began to cry.

"Dummy, don't cry!" Beauty mark said.

"…Uh. But Yone… I'm crying… because I haven't seen my little brother in ages, and now I never will…!" Pigtails cried. Kasane's heart throbbed painfully in her chest as she listened sympathetically.

"It's not just Sayo." Beauty mark, Yone, said, referring to pigtails. "Suzu's mom was killed. My little girl was taken away, and I don't even know if she's alive. All of this is that idiot young lord's fault. It's always us common folk who wind up like this." Yone said. "I don't know where that came from… Anyway, you'd better resign yourself. We'll never see our families again—" Kasane fell to her knees in front of them and a waterfall of tears flowed from her eyes. Yone and Sayo were shocked. "W-Wait, why are you crying_!_?" Yone asked.

"Then… let's go talk to that lord in person." Kasane said.

"… Huh?" Yone said in disbelief.

"Let's get out of here, Sayo." Kasane said, wiping her eyes. "Everyone, let's escape!"

"Wh-What are you saying_!_? We're in Narumi Castle, which was taken by the Imagawas! Getting out of a place like this…" Yone said.

"But… if we stay here like this, we won't be able to do anything…!" Kasane said. "What if the rest of your family escaped and is waiting at the village?"

"…" Yone said.

"Yone, your daughter… I'm sure she's waiting for you somewhere…" Kasane said as she started to tear up again.

'What a weird girl… and she's wearing such odd clothes too…' Yone thought. "… Fine, just stop dripping all over the place." Yone said, sweat dropping.

"I… I want… I want to see my brother again…!" Sayo cried.

"Sayo…" Kasane said, touched. "Don't worry, I know you'll be able to see him again!"

"But… all of us are tied up." Yone pointed out. "We can't move around, so how?"

"It'll work out… It's gotta." Kasane said, gulping nervously. 'This is a dream after all…!' Kasane thought. "If you set your sights on it, you can do anything!" Kasane yelled and bit into the rope that was binding her hands.

"!" The other women shouted, going blue with shock at such a violently weird display.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{A few minutes later…}

Kasane had gnawed through her own rope and then untied the others.

"I can't believe it, she actually gnawed through this…!" Yone said, sweat dropping. "Is she an animal…?" Kasane and Sayo were busy trying to figure out how to open their cell. Luckily, the soldier guarding them had a weak bladder.

"But the key to our cell…" Sayo said, wondering how they could possibly get the key from the guard.

"Leave it to me! I'm sure I can get it with a hairpin!" Kasane said, removing one of her hairpins. Kasane bent her hairpin, straightening it out, and inserted into the lock on the door.

CLICK! Their cell door was now unlocked. The hairpin had actually worked.

"Whoa!" Kasane and Sayo said together in amazement as they stared at the hairpin with starry eyes.

"Hairpins are amazing!" Kasane said.

"How come you're surprised at yourself?" Yone said, raising an eyebrow. They all crawled out of the small cell doorway, and were almost home free when the guard came back. It was headband man.

"What's all the fuss about_!_? Be good and settle d—_!_?" The guard said as he came around the corner. He stopped short when he saw the prisoners _outside_ of their cell.

"Ah!" Kasane said, realizing they had been caught.

"Hey! Just how did you get out of there_!_?" Headband yelled.

"Ka-Kasane!" Sayo said nervously.

"Sayo, guys, stay back." Kasane said as she stepped in front of them to face the guard. 'What can I use as a sword?' Kasane thought. She saw a conveniently located stick laying against the wall.

"What's going on! Answer me!" The guard yelled.

"Oh!" Kasane shouted out of the blue. She whipped her hand up and pointed straight up at the ceiling. "There's a rat on the ceiling!" Kasane shouted. Everyone looked up, and the women screamed, afraid of the nonexistent rat. Kasane grabbed the stick while the guard was distracted.

"What…_!_?" The guard said angrily when he realized he'd been tricked.

"Kusanagi–style unsheathing technique!" Kasane yelled as she attacked. "First art! 'Cloudbank'!" She struck the guard, knocking him unconscious with a single blow.

"A-Amazing! Just what is she_!_?" Yone said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Meanwhile, outside the compound…}

The women's cheering could be heard from outside the building.

"Hmm~?" A teenage boy, whose wild black hair had been pulled up into a ponytail, said as his ear twitched. "Gorouza! There's some kind of ruckus coming from inside." The boy said, turning to look at his longhaired friend as he spoke, and he dropped the Imagawa soldier that he had just beaten unconscious. They could hear a group of people running toward them. It was Kasane and the other prisoners, but they had no way of knowing that.

"They might've noticed our raid." A short teenage girl with dirty-blonde hair said.

"You may be right, Ayako." Gorouza said. "Kuranosuke, scout the area and report back."

"… Got it." Kuranosuke, a short boy with pale hair, said. Kuranosuke jumped up into a tree and onto the roof of the building next to them. He ran along the roof, and jumped down, disappearing from their sight.

"My, he's light on his feet!" The black-haired boy said as they watched him go.

"Kura-kun's not secretly a ninja, is he, Inuchiyo?" Ayako asked the black-haired boy.

"Ayako, don't let him hear you call him that, or we'll never hear the end of it." Gorouza said, sweat dropping.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

As Kuranosuke was speeding towards them, Kasane and the others continued to run, unaware of the other group of intruders.

'The guards are bigger than me and have armor. I'm at a total disadvantage.' Kasane thought as she ran, leading the way for the others. She realized she could hear someone approaching them from around the corner.

'In a situation like this, it has to be an instant kill…' Kuranosuke thought.

'I'll strike the moment they pass by!' Kasane and Kuranosuke thought at the same time as they both simultaneously rounded the corner and struck. They both stopped their attacks with only an inch to spare before the blows would've made contact. Kasane stared at the old-fashioned gun Kuranosuke had aimed at her, and Kuranosuke stared at the stick she had been using as a substitute katana. "… Huh?" They both said, confused and surprised. It was obvious that neither of them were Imagawa soldiers.

'What?' Kasane thought.

'Huh?' Kuranosuke thought.

'Who's the shortie?' They both wondered.

"… Hey." Kuranosuke said, scowling. "You there… where'd you come from…" Kuranosuke managed to say before he was pelted with several reasonably sized rocks.

"Are you okay_!_?" Sayo asked. Kasane turned to see the other women were all holding rocks. They were the culprits. Kuranosuke had been stoned unconscious.

"Sayo! Everyone!" Kasane said, touched that they would help her.

"What happened?" Sayo asked.

"I don't think this shortie is one of the castle guards…" Kasane said.

"Aa–ah!" Inuchiyo cried in dismay when he saw the beaten Kuranosuke. "Kura's dead!"

'I'm not dead.' Kuranosuke thought as a vein mark throbbed on his head.

"Damn you, Imagawas!" Inuchiyo roared as he charged at Kasane with his spear.

CLACK! Kasane whacked the spear with her stick, deflecting Inuchiyo's blow.

"!" Inuchiyo said, surprised. "Eh?" He said when he felt himself being flipped. "Aaah!" Inuchiyo yelled as he landed on top of Kuranosuke with a loud thud.

"Oomph!" Kuranosuke groaned in pain as his back cracked. He felt like his intestines were going to be squeezed out of him.

"Yaah!" Kasane cried as she charged at Inuchiyo again.

"Stop!" Ayako shouted as she jumped in front of the two boys, and blocked Kasane's powerful blow with her hanbo. "This is just a misunderstanding. We're not soldiers of Imagawa!" Ayako noticed Kasane was wearing a high school uniform from the 21st century. 'This girl…_!_?' Ayako thought, surprised. However, she didn't want to talk about time travel in front of the others. She knew that probably no one other Nobunaga would believe her, so she had already told the others that she 'wasn't from around here' and left it at that.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I just got caught up in the moment!" Kasane said, realizing what she had just done. 'Eh… A girl_!_? And she's a foreigner_!_?' Kasane thought in surprise when she saw the dirty-blonde-haired and hazel-eyed Ayako. '… No, she looks half Japanese…' Kasane exhaled and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Get off me!" An irritated Kuranosuke muttered darkly at the dazed Inuchiyo.

"Oh my… exactly what happened here…?" Gorouza asked as he appeared.

'Another one?' Kasane thought.

"Who are you?" Gorouza asked her.

"_!_?" Kasane said. 'There's two girls…?' Kasane thought, mistaking Gorouza for a girl. He did have a pretty face.

'She's cute.' Sayo thought, also under the wrong impression.

"Eh…?" Kasane said, not understanding what was going on.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Hahaha! So, the 'prisoners' rescued themselves!" Gorouza said, laughing in amusement. Once Kasane and the women had explained everything. "Looks like… with the war going on, you Owari women are toughening up."

"It's not that surprising, Gorouza. A woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water. The strength of a woman can carry the weight of the world." Ayako said.

'War…?' Kasane thought. "Um, who are you?" Kasane asked.

"My apologies." Gorouza said politely, smiling. "I'm Niwa Gorouzaemon Nagahide, vassal to a lord of Owari, the lord of Nagoya castle. Same with Sassa Kuranosuke Narimasa, and Maeda Matazaemon Toshiie, he goes by Inuchiyo. This young lady is Himura Ayako Louise. She goes by Ayako." Gorouza motioned to the now conscious Kuranosuke and Inuchiyo as he introduced them too. Ayako smiled and waved hello.

"We're so sorry!" the women said, bowing and apologizing to Kuranosuke for stoning him when they mistook him for an enemy.

"…" Kuranosuke said, as he stared at them, not sure what to say that wouldn't sound too mean. He was rough, but he was a nice guy at heart. Inuchiyo was smiling and fidgeting like an excited puppy.

"We were ordered to come get the prisoners at Narumi Castle." Gorouza explained.

"Are any of you injured?" Ayako asked.

"Hey, hey! How'd you do that, back then? The tuck and twirl!" Inuchiyo asked as he leaned over Gorouza's shoulder.

'They're huge…' Kasane thought as she looked up at the two guys. She had thought Gorouza was tall, but Inuchiyo was even taller than Gorouza was. They looked like giants next to the short, five-feet tall, Ayako.

"Inuchiyo… _'Stay'_!" Gorouza said firmly. "No talking." Inuchiyo pouted, but he didn't say anything more.

'Is he trained…?' Kasane wondered, sweat dropping.

"So… back to the matter at hand. You said the Yamaguchis have just betrayed us and allowed the Imagawas to enter?" Ayako said, getting the conversation back on track.

"We aren't going to be able to stop the warriors who are taking advantage of the fighting and causing trouble." Gorouza said, worried about the possibility of violent looters.

"I'm especially worried about the people in the villages in this area…" Ayako said. She was originally from Louisiana, and thanks to hurricane Katrina, she knew how chaotic and out of hand things can get when violent looters started to threaten people and cause a panic.

"Do you expect us to believe that?" Yone scoffed.

"Yone…" Kasane said.

"We don't have anything to do with what's caused all of this, but the common people are always the ones who suffer. This is all because our new lord never conducted himself properly. Can you deny that? Tell me, how are we supposed to believe in a lord like that." Yone said.

'Well… what she wasn't wrong, but… I guess Nobunaga just did _too_ good of a job playing the village idiot all these years…' Ayako thought as the atmosphere grew stormy, and Inuchiyo and Gorouza stared down Yone, who wasn't giving an inch.

"You're insulting our lord." Inuchiyo said, frowning.

"Ah!" Kasane said nervously as she looked between the two sides. Ayako sweat dropped. Yone just _had_ to insult Nobunaga in front of these guys, of all people… They didn't have time for this.

"Wait, hold it!" Ayako said, interrupting what was starting to turn into a Mexican standoff. "Forget that for now, we've got to hurry up and get out of here. We're still in enemy territory."

"You too, Yone." Kasane said nervously, trying to help Ayako diffuse the situation. "Right now, we've got to escape! Once we get out of here, you can personally go and tell him your complaints! I'll go too, okay?"

"Personally?" Gorouza said, slightly surprised.

"Yep! We'll let the lord have it!" Kasane said, determined to make things right.

"I see…" Ayako said, wondering how well that would go over. While it was perfectly normal to be able to complain and say whatever you wanted to and about most government leaders in the 21st century where Ayako and Kasane were from, this was feudal Japan. Most rulers weren't accustomed to being told off by their subjects, and letting them go unscathed. Ayako decided she better keep an eye on Kasane and keep her from getting herself in trouble when the time came.

"Personally… true enough, if you don't tell him face to face, he wont understand. To do that, let's head to the battlefield." Gorouza said. His eyes were shielded by his bangs, so they couldn't see his expression, but Ayako somehow had the feeling he was struggling not to laugh, despite how serious he sounded. He was probably planning something to get back at them for slandering the lord and prove how awesome Nobunaga really was. Gorouza looked back up, his completely serious again.

"Right now, our lord is facing off at 'Akatsuka'… with Lord Yamaguchi Noryoshi." Gorouza said. Ayako smirked.

'So, that's his plan… let them see for themselves what kind of man the Lord of Owari is.' Ayako thought as they all marched towards the battlefield together.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I added a link to my profile that you can copy and paste into your browser that will show you what Ayako looks like, as well as some of the others too. The managka's version of what Nobunaga looks like is much more attractive than the historical potrait I saw of him. No offense intended! ^_^;


	5. Sucker Punch

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_Personally… true enough, if you don't tell him face to face, he wont understand. To do that, let's head to the battlefield." Gorouza said. _

_His eyes were shielded by his bangs, so they couldn't see his expression, but Ayako somehow had the feeling he was struggling not to laugh, despite how serious he sounded. He was probably planning something to get back at them for slandering the lord and prove how awesome Nobunaga really was. Gorouza looked back up, his face completely serious again. _

"_Right now, our lord is facing off at 'Akatsuka'… with Lord Yamaguchi Noryoshi." Gorouza said. Ayako smirked._

'_So, that's his plan… let them see for themselves what kind of man the Lord of Owari is.' Ayako thought as they all marched towards the battlefield together._

* * *

><p>{Owari, Akatsuka}<p>

"Raaaaah!" Two soldiers cried as their weapons clashed. Many similar war cries could be heard across the battlefield as the two sides battled, fighting for victory and dominance over each other. A new wave of resolute and steadfast soldiers bearing the crest of the Oda clan stepped forward in unison, moving as though they were one.

"Ahhh! D-Don't break formation!" Lord Yamaguchi yelled as his soldiers flinched, and some of them even took a step backwards, loosing their nerve. 'Impossible!' Yamaguchi thought as the lord of Owari's soldiers halted and they all slammed the dull end of their spears into the ground. The sound of the combined thuds echoed across the battlefield, like a rolling wave of thunder. 'Our forces are 1500 strong, and theirs are at best 700…_!_?' Yamaguchi thought, shocked and breaking out into a nervous, cold sweat. 'With our superior numbers, we should have the advantage! That fool of a lord didn't inherit his family's military genius. Once we knew that, my family chose to gamble on the Imagawas. It was so we could survive in these turbulent times…!' He watched as the lord of Owari's soldiers defeated his soldiers, one after another, and pushed them back. The 'fool of Owari' was drawing closer. Yamaguchi could see him now. "And yet… How…_!_?" Yamaguchi said out loud, starting to panic. Oda Nobunaga held his arm straight out and raised his hand. 'What's going on_!_?' Yamaguchi thought, totally loosing it. Nobunaga brought his hand down, signaling his troops to attack. The soldiers raised their spears. 'The soldiers are moving as one, in unison…_!_?'.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Something's not right here…" Ayako said as they were all running to meet up with the troops and leave the castle.

"I agree! Don't you think this is strange, Niwa-san?" Kasane said.

"I know… You can call me Gorouza, by the way." Gorouza said. Inuchiyo glanced curiously at him.

"What is…?" Inuchiyo asked excitedly, suddenly coming up behind him, and hovering like a curious puppy.

"Hush, Inuchiyo. Kuranosuke, guard the rear." Gorouza ordered. Kuranosuke nodded and fell back to the back of the group. Inuchiyo was pouting in his own little corner of woe, like a kicked puppy.

"We're getting away so easily…" Kasane said.

"We haven't run into a single guard along the way… it's suspicious." Ayako said. The prisoners were escaping, so you'd think the guards would at least try to get them back.

"Looking from Narumi, the battlefield, Akatsuka, lies east of San no Yama… So, we've passed along the west side of it." Gorouza said. "Once you've exited this forest, there's open coast line. Our opponents letting us come this far… Most likely means they've taken the horses ahead of us—" Gorouza said as they all came to a sudden stop. Standing there before them, was a group of enemy soldiers from the castle.

"Oh, lovely. We've been ambushed…" Ayako deadpanned as they stared at the fully armored and mounted enemy soldiers. Ayako really didn't want to have to hurt their horses. She liked horses, and it wasn't their fault that their riders were idiots.

"Did you truly think you'd escape from the castle so easily?" One of the soldiers asked mockingly.

"This is… not good." Gorouza whispered.

"That's a sound assessment of the situation, but I was hoping you'd have a plan…" Ayako whispered back.

"It seems like that fool's trained up some brats of his own." The soldier said, continuing to speak. He laughed at them and smirked. "But for him to think that he could penetrate the castle with so few of you… Maybe you were left behind when the army marched, and now you're playing a little war game here? Ahahaha!" Inuchiyo flinched and his eyes were veiled in shadow.

"Oh no." Katsumi said, face-palming. Gorouza sighed.

"?" Kasane said, confused.

"That's the worst thing he could've said." Gorouza said, sweat dropping and holding a hand to his forehead, a much more dignified version of a face-palm than Ayako's spastic forehead slap.

"Shut up." Inuchiyo said, trembling. "I… I…, well… I…" Inuchiyo suddenly leapt at the soldiers. "I wanted to go with the master! Idiots!" Inuchiyo cried.

"Ahh_!_? Who is this guy_!_?" The soldiers shouted in alarm, sweating, as Inuchiyo flew at them.

"He leaped_!_?" Kasane shouted, shocked.

"My, My." Gorouza said.

"And he was doing so well bearing with it too…" Ayako said.

'Maybe he should've gone with his master…' Kasane thought, sweat dropping as she watched Inuchiyo take his frustration out on the soldiers.

SLAM! WHAM! BAM! Ayako thought she heard the sound of something important breaking as Inuchiyo knocked the men off of their horses.

"Arrghh!" One of the soldiers cried in agony.

"Rawwwh!" Inuchiyo roared.

"Hold him down!" Another soldier cried.

"Perfect." Gorouza said. "Since Inuchiyo's lost it, we'll join the fray, and buy you some time." Gorouza said as he drew his sword. It was a _huge_ zanbato_._ It reminded Ayako of the 'zanpakto' one of her favorite anime characters had wielded.

"You guys should escape when you get the chance." Ayako said.

"No… I'll fight too!" Kasane said, taking an offensive stance.

"Kasane!" Sayo said, worried for her strange new friend.

"But…" Gorouza said hesitantly.

"I was the one who first talked about escaping. Everyone wants to go back to their villages." Kasane said. "Don't worry! If you look closely, you can tell that I was raised in a dojo. No matter what happens, I'm sure to win!" Kasane said, smiling confidently.

'Sure too…?' Gorouza thought, surprised. Ayako grinned at Kasane. She already knew Kasane was strong from when she had blocked her blow back at the castle. She clapped Kasane supportively on the back and ran to take up her own offensive position.

"Just a quick tip, I find the best spot to hit them is in the shoulder, were their armor is tied on. There's a small gap in between the chest plate and the shoulder guards." Ayako called back over her shoulder.

'Smiling in a situation like this…' Gorouza thought as he stared at the two strange girls. He had only known Ayako for a few days since Nobunaga introduced them, so he had never seen her in an actual battle before. He could see why their lord had taken to her so quickly. 'I guess there are other strange people in this world besides my 'master'.' "Then… I'll take these guys." Gorouza said, moving into position as well.

"Okay! Leave it to me!" Kasane said.

"Watch out!" Ayako warned Kasane as arrows flew right past her.

"!" Kasane said in surprise as she stared at the arrows that were now embedded in the ground before her.

"Win, you said?" An enemy soldier said as he prepared to draw another arrow.

"More soldiers from the forest…" Sayo said nervously.

"I'm impressed that you made it this far on those girly legs of yours. But don't think we'll let you win so easily. How about you be good and go back to the castle?" The soldier said, mocking them as more enemy soldiers surrounded them. A vein mark popped on Ayako's head. She really wanted to kick that sexist pig's ass.

'Masamune, Kotetsu…!" Kasane thought as she clenched her fist, determined to make it back to her little brothers. She couldn't be defeated here.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Arrghh!" An enemy soldier cried out as Ayako struck him with her hanbo. He hit the ground, out cold, joining several of his already defeated comrades in la-la land. Suddenly two of the remaining soldiers rushed at her and attacked simultaneously. One of them aimed for her head, and the other aimed for her gut.

"Whoa!" Ayako said.

She leaned to the side and kicked her feet up, aligning her body so that it was now horizontal and parallel to the ground. The force from when Ayako pushed off of the ground spun her body as she managed to roll right between the two spears her attackers had thrust at her. Ayako had only _just_ managed to dodge. The surprised look on her attacker's faces was priceless. Taking advantage of their stunned stupor, Ayako struck one of them on the temple with her hanbo, and she sucker-punched the other. They were both instantly K.O.'d. Ayako froze when she heard the all too familiar click of a pistol being cocked. She had heard it enough times when she was sparring with Kuranosuke to know what it meant.

'Crap…!' Ayako thought, as she spun around to face her attacker. The soldier leered at her and pulled the trigger. "!" Ayako yelled as she somehow managed to block the bullet with her hanbo. Unfortunately, while she had managed to save herself, when the explosive force driving the bullet hit her hanbo, it splintered and snapped it in half. The soldier laughed.

"What are you going to do now, girl? It's just you and me now." The soldier leered at her. Ayako glared defiantly at the man, refusing to show any fear. She scammed the area for something she could use as a weapon.

'Maybe I could get to that guy's spear…' Ayako thought. She doubted she could outrun a bullet, but it was worth a shot. The soldier noticed what she was looking at.

"I don't think so!" The soldier said. He raised his gun, and aimed at her. Ayako took off, sprinting towards the spear.

BANG!

Ayako squeezed her eyes shut. She hadn't made it to the spear. For a moment, she thought maybe she'd actually been hit when she smelled blood, but then she realized she wasn't hurting anywhere. Ayako slowly opened her eyes, and looked up. Her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw. There, laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, was the soldier who had tried to shoot her only seconds ago. Someone had shot him. Ayako realized she could hear the sound of a horse galloping towards her. She quickly grabbed the spear, and looked up to see who was coming. She knew it probably wasn't an enemy since she was alive, and the other guy wasn't, but better safe than sorry, right? It was then that her savior came into view, riding out from the forest. It was Oda Nobunaga, lord of Owari. He was holding a rifle in one hand, and his horse's reigns in the other. Ayako's eyes widened in realization. He had fired that shot while he was not only super far away, but while he was riding a horse, too. It had been a crack shot.

"Good shot." Ayako said, still slightly stunned, as Nobunaga slowed his horse to a stop when he reached her. "How're things at Akatsuka? You're not injured, right?" Ayako asked, concerned. He looked perfectly healthy and uninjured, but it hadn't stopped her from worrying.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared down at her. Ayako sweat dropped. His stare was so intense, like he was trying to give her an x-ray with his eyes or something. "I should be asking you that. Why are you fighting alone? Where are the others? What happened to the prisoners?" Nobunaga demanded. Ayako heard the rest of the troops coming, catching up to their hurricane of a leader.

"We ended up splitting up… you know, divide and conquer? The prisoners are safe for now, but…" Ayako said. "I didn't think he'd bring a gun into a stick fight… I can't believe I let my guard down like that." She sighed. "But on the plus side, I managed to do an awesome new move earlier! And I think one of the girls, Kasane, has… similar origins to me." Ayako said, glancing cautiously at the soldiers who were now within hearing distance. "She was wearing clothing from my 'homeland.'" Ayako said, smiling excitedly, like a little kid who had just discovered where her parents hid the candy.

"… Is that so?" Nobunaga said, intrigued. "Take me to them."

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

As many of you anime and manga fans have probably already guessed, Ayako's favorite zanpakto wielding anime character is none other than Ichigo from _Bleach._ (Which I do not own, so please don't sue me! DX)


	6. Come, Girl

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"…" _Nobunaga said as he stared down at her. Ayako sweat dropped. His stare was so intense, like he was trying to give her an x-ray with his eyes or something. "I should be asking you that. Why are you fighting alone? Where are the others? What happened to the prisoners?" Nobunaga demanded. Ayako heard the rest of the troops coming, catching up to their hurricane of a leader._

"_We ended up splitting up… you know, divide and conquer? The prisoners are safe for now, but…" Ayako said. "I didn't think he'd bring a gun into a stick fight… I can't believe I let my guard down like that." She sighed. "But on the plus side, I managed to do an awesome new move earlier! And I think one of the girls, Kasane, has… similar origins to me." Ayako said, glancing cautiously at the soldiers who were now within hearing distance. "She was wearing clothing from my 'homeland.'" Ayako said, smiling excitedly, like a little kid who had just discovered where her parents hid the candy._

"… _Is that so?" Nobunaga said, intrigued. "Take me to them."_

* * *

><p>SLAM!<p>

Kasane used her stick to block the enemy's spear. Kasane pivoted on her feet, using her attacker's momentum to push the spear to the side.

"Wh—" The man said, surprised that he was being matched by a young girl.

'Just three more!' Kasane thought, going into her 'kendo match' mode. 'Next is a torso hit…!'

WHACK! The loud sound from when Kasane struck the soldier in his side echoed, like the ringing of an old church bell or gong. DOINNNG~!

'I hit his armor… My hand's gone numb…' Kasane thought, shocked.

Her arms were quivering from the vibrations and shock of hitting something metal with such brute force, and she was sweating nervously. It kind of hurt, but she couldn't move her arms. She had gotten so caught up in the fight that she had forgotten it wasn't just an ordinary match. A soldier snuck up behind her and grabbed his sword. He swung at Kasane. Kasane quickly hit her arm to counteract the vibrations that were numbing her arm, and spun around, blocking the sword with her stick, just in the knick of time. The force of the blow sent Kasane sliding backwards, closer to the other women, who had been watching the fight helplessly since they had no weapons and weren't trained to fight, like Kasane. Kasane panted, trying to catch her breath as she stared down her enemies. She had never had to fight so hard before.

"I can read their moves without a problem… but this weapon's not going to last forever." Kasane said, thinking out loud, as part of her temporary weapon crumbled and broke off. All of these attacks were slowly whittling the stick down to nothing. Thinking out loud always helped her solve problems faster, and right now, she had a big problem that needed solving. The others were depending on her, and she couldn't afford to lose here. She had to get back to Kotetsu and Masamune. Two of the enemy soldiers exchanged a glance.

"We weren't told to kill you." One of the soldiers said, distracting Kasane as the other one snuck around behind the group of women. He loomed over an oblivious Sayo, who was too busy watching and worrying about Kasane to notice. "But If you resist too much…"

"We'll have to get a little rough with you." Sayo's stalker said, finishing his buddy's sentence as he grabbed Sayo.

"Aaahhh!" Sayo screamed.

"Sayo!" Kasane yelled in alarm as she turned to check on her friend.

"If we can end this now, we won't have to dishonor you needlessly." The man said as he gripped Sayo's face and squeezed.

"Uh…!" Sayo whimpered in fear and pain, starting to tear up. She didn't want to die, not without at least seeing her brother again.

"!" Kasane said, moving to help the scared girl. "Let her—!" Someone grabbed Kasane's shoulder, stopping her. "Eh…?" Kasane said, surprise and puzzled when she saw that it was Yone who had stopped her.

"Let her go. We'll… return to our cell." Yone said calmly.

"Yone…!" Kasane cried, confused and dismayed.

"That's enough, Kasane… It's fine. We never had any hope. The moment the village was attacked, we were defeated. Let's just end this." Yone said, resigned, as the other women quietly sobbed, losing all hope for escaping. They weren't going to let the soldiers hurt Sayo, and their homes were now anyway. Sayo stared at them, tears in her eyes, before she too hung her head in defeat.

"Same here…" Kasane said, her head bowed slightly, her bangs hiding her eyes. "My brothers aren't here anymore… Sayo. But those two… they keep on rolling. Unlike me, they have no interest in fighting, and don't understand the competitions at all, but… but…" Kasane's grip tightened on the stick. "They smile for me." Kasane said, raising her head slightly. They could all see the gentle and loving smile on her face as Kasane thought of her younger brothers. "When I win a fight, they smile and clap their hands for me. Er, what'm I saying? I guess that it's great to be alive, yeah." Kasane laughed wryly at herself and rubbed the back of her neck. "Sayo, how about you?" Sayo looked up at Kasane. She didn't want to give up either.

"Kasane…" Sayo said.

'It's too soon to give up.' Kasane thought, slowly exhaling to even out her breathing, in preparation for her next move. "I… won't lose!" Kasane shouted as she rushed towards the soldier holding Sayo. The soldier was surprised by Kasane's sudden action, and his grip on Sayo loosened slightly as he pointed his sword at Kasane. Sayo took advantage of this and ducked, breaking free from his grip, and leaving the soldier open to Kasane's attack, now that he no longer had his hostage. Remembering the tip Ayako had given her earlier, Kasane aimed for the man's shoulder and thrust her stick at him, slamming it into his shoulder, and hitting part of his shoulder guard in the process.

"Wha_!_?" The soldier said, shocked when he saw that part of his shoulder guard had cracked and was falling apart from the force of Kasane's attack.

"Run! Quickly!" Kasane yelled to the others.

Sayo and Yone looked at each other and nodded, guiding the other women into the cover of the nearby woods. They wouldn't let Kasane's efforts go to waste. The soldier recovered from his shock and swung his sword down at Kasane. Kasane stepped forward and ducked, catching the sword's handle from underneath as the soldier tried to cut her down.

'I can't fall back!' Kasane thought as she grit her teeth and grunted from the strain of wrestling the man attacking her. 'Masamune, Kotetsu! Just you watch.' The soldier wrenched his sword out of Kasane's grip, and she jumped back, and picked up her stick again. Another soldier, also wielding a katana, ran at her. 'Your sis… won't lose!' Kasane thought as she let out a war cry and swung her stick at her opponent's katana.

BANG! The loud sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the clearing, causing some of the birds in the area to scatter and fly away.

"…!" The enemy soldier said, shocked when the blade of his sword suddenly shattered. Kasane flinched, startled.

"Eh_!_? Did I do that_!_?" Kasane yelled, surprised, and confused about what had just happened. She was slightly blue with shock and trembling in surprise. "But what was that noise…_!_?" The other soldier that had been aiming for Kasane, rushed forward to attack her.

"Look out!" Kasane heard Ayako yell.

"_!_?" Kasane said.

"Next." Nobunaga said as he handed the rifle he had just used to Ayako and one of his soldiers handed him a loaded one. Nobunaga twirled the rifle around in his hand, and charged forward as he aimed at the enemy soldier attacking Kasane.

"Kasane, duck!" Ayako yelled.

BANG! Nobunaga shot the soldier's sword, knocking it out of his hands as Kasane covered her ears and ducked.

"Argh!" The soldier shouted in pain as the force of the bullet wrenched his sword from his hands.

'Kyahh!' Kasane squealed in her mind, surprised. The other women peeked out from where they had taken cover in the woods nearby. Yone started.

"Wh—Why is he here…_!_?" Yone shouted in surprise when she saw Nobunaga.

"Wh-Who's there_!_?" The enemy soldier yelled nervously.

"Rather, who are you?" Nobunaga said. "I don't recall handing my people over to the Imagawas."

Kasane stared in awe as the dust settled, and she saw who had come to her rescue. It was an imposing and dignified man, sitting atop a majestic horse, the rifle he had just fired still aimed at his opponents. Ayako ran up to stand beside him, and behind them was a small army of disciplined soldiers, bearing banners with the crest of the Oda clan on them.

"This is my territory, dogs." Nobunaga said disdainfully as he glared at the enemy soldiers.

"Gah..!" One of the soldiers said in alarm when he realized who they were up against. The other soldier grit his teeth in frustration at being caught.

'My territory…?' Kasane thought, wondering who the man was. Her grade in history class wasn't any better than Ayako's.

"Sis!" Kasane heard someone yell. Kasane flinched in surprise.

"Yes_!_?" She shouted as a young soldier broke ranks and ran past Nobunaga and Ayako, towards Sayo.

"Sis! Sayo!" The boy yelled.

"Ah!" Kasane said, realizing her mistake. 'I answered out of reflex…' She thought, sweat dropping.

"Ko-Kotaru…?" Sayo said, surprised to see her brother so suddenly after all this time. He had grown a lot.

"It's me! Are you okay, Sis? I came as fast as I could when I heard the village was attacked! Thank God! Thank God you're alive!" Kotaru said as he gripped Sayo's shoulders. Sayo smiled and cried tears of joy and relief at finally being reunited with her brother.

'Sayo…' Kasane thought, smiling, happy for her friend.

"Hey, Kasane, are you alright?" Ayako asked as she came up beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm really lucky you guys got here when you did, and you were right about hitting them in the shoulder, thanks!" Kasane said, smiling. Ayako smiled back.

"Anytime! Besides, it was your own skills that made the blow effective." Ayako said. The two girls just stood there, grinning at each other, instant friends.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at them. The girl was dressed in clothing that was similar to what Ayako had been wearing when she first 'arrived.' He could tell from the way the two girls interacted so easily with each other that they probably shared a similar cultural background, just as Ayako had said. This new, strange girl reminded him of Ayako a little.

"My Lord! How goes the fight against Yamaguchi…" Gorouza asked Nobunaga as he ran over to the young lord.

"Whee, Master!" Inuchiyo shouted happily as he and Kuranosuke also started running over to greet him.

"Excuse me…" Kasane said to Nobunaga, popping up as she and Ayako rejoined the others.

"Kasane." Gorouza said, slightly surprised as he turned to look at them.

"My Lord, this girl wishes to speak with you…" Ayako said. Kasane seemed like a nice girl, so she probably wouldn't intentionally say anything too rude. Nobunaga stared at Kasane, waiting for her to continue.

"Are you that lord that no one has any faith in?" Kasane asked innocently, with no evil intentions. Everyone was shocked… well Nobunaga still had a mask of indifference, but still… Ayako almost face-faulted. Indeed, she hadn't _intentionally_ said anything to insult Nobunaga. Gorouza's eyes widened in astonishment, and he sweat dropped.

'She didn't…_!_?' Yone thought incredulousy as she gaped at Kasane, shocked and appalled. After all that, Kasane had probably just signed her own death warrant with a comment like that.

"… Who are you, girl?" Nobunaga said, he was more intrigued than angry after meeting someone, other than Ayako, who had the guts to speak to him like that, and Ayako had already told him that speaking to a ruler like that was common and acceptable in the future, so he knew that the girl probably hadn't meant to commit such a grave offense.

"M-My Lord! This is Kasane." Gorouza said quickly, worried that Kasane had just committed a grave mistake in her poor choice of words. "She helped us free the prisoners."

"Everyone… is worried." Kasane said. Ayako glanced cautiously at Nobunaga, gauging his reaction. His grip tightened slightly on the reigns, but he wasn't exuding any murderous intent… yet. "My Lord! One day soon… please make this a country where everyone can live together with their family." Kasane said seriously.

"Family…?" Nobunaga asked. Kasane nodded seriously as she looked him in the eye. Ayako smiled. That was probably the best thing Kasane could've said. Kasane spun around and waved at Yone.

"Yone! I kept my promise." Kasane said, smiling cheerfully. Yone flinched.

"Eek! Don't wave at me! They'll think we're together!" Yone said nervously. She didn't want to be an object of the young lord's wrath.

"Yone…" Sayo said, sweat dropping.

"Get back, girl! Who do you think you—" A soldier shouted indignantly at Kasane. Nobunaga suddenly yanked a spear out of a nearby soldier's hand.

"M-My Lord_!_?" Gorouza said in alarm.

"This is… a child's joke, yes_!_? If you might forgive her…!" The soldier, whose spear he had just grabbed, said nervously.

"_!_?" Ayako said, wondering what had brought on this sudden action. She glanced nervously at Kasane. Her eyes widened.

'Ah, she must be happy…' Kasane thought as she watched Yone, oblivious to the commotion behind her.

"You mustn't, my Lord! Please, don't do this…"" Gorouza yelled as Nobunaga tightened his grip on the spear and took aim.

"Lord Nobunaga!" The men yelled in shock and alarm as he hurled the spear at his target.

Kasane's eyes widened in shock when she heard the sickening sound of flesh being pierced and felt the spear. Nobunaga watched with the eyes of a hawk as the spear skewered its intended target. Yone, Sayo, and the others gasped in horror as they stared at Kasane. Blood splattered onto Kasane. She was stunned, unable to move as she had felt the spear fly over her shoulder, next to her head. The spear wobbled as the enemy soldier that had been sneaking up on her fell to the ground, dead, after being impaled by the spear Nobunaga had thrown. Kasane stared at the ground in front of her as blood flowed from the soldier's wound, and pooled around her feet. Kasane's heart began to beat rapidly in her chest as she reached up at touched the soldier's blood that had landed on her cheek. Her eyes widened in horror, and all the color drained from her face.

'It's warm…' Kasane thought, numb with shock as she fell to her knees. "This… isn't… a… dream…" Kasane mumbled, in shock as she panted heavily, hyperventilating, as her vision started to blur. Kasane fainted.

"Kasane…!" Sayo and Yone yelled in alarm, worried. Ayako rushed forward and checked Kasane for injuries.

'I see… so, she thought this was all a dream… no wonder she was taking everything so well… Anyone would faint after suddenly seeing someone killed like that.' Ayako thought as she looked over Kasane. "She'll be alright. Kasane is doesn't have any physical injuries… I think she just received one shock too many, on top of being tired from overexertion." Ayako told the women. They sighed in relief.

"This girl…" Inuchiyo said, worried about Kasane.

"Just who is she…_!_?" Gorouza said, concerned as well.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at the two girls from the future. "Return to Nagoya… Gorouza." Nobunaga said as he turned his horse and started leaving. "Bring _that _along as well." Nobunaga added, referring to Kasane.

[And that… was how Kasane's long, long first day went… after she was suddenly cast into the Sengoku era…]


	7. There's No Rest For The Weary

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

'_I see… so, she thought this was all a dream… no wonder she was taking everything so well… Anyone would faint after suddenly seeing someone killed like that.' Ayako thought as she looked over Kasane. "She'll be alright. Kasane is doesn't have any physical injuries… I think she just received one shock too many, on top of being tired from overexertion." Ayako told the women. They sighed in relief._

"_This girl…" Inuchiyo said, worried about Kasane._

"_Just who is she…!" Gorouza said, concerned as well._

"…" _Nobunaga said as he stared at the two girls from the future. "Return to Nagoya… Gorouza." Nobunaga said as he turned his horse and started leaving. "Bring that along as well." Nobunaga added, referring to Kasane._

_[And that… was how Kasane's long, long first day went… after she was suddenly cast into the Sengoku era…]_

* * *

><p>{Owari, Nagoya Castle}<p>

Ayako sighed as she walked to her room, carrying the unconscious Kasane on her back. She laid Kasane down on a spare blanket, and went to work. After they had returned to the castle, Ayako had checked over Kasane again, just to make sure she hadn't missed any injuries before. Kasane was still out cold, so Ayako had carried her back to the castle on her horse, and now she was cleaning the blood off of Kasane's face and school uniform. Ayako figured it was the least she could do. After all, who wants to wake up to find someone's blood on them? Kasane had already been through enough. Ayako had just finished cleaning Kasane up when the door to her small room slid open.

"How is she, Ayako?" Gorouza asked. He had just finished his debriefing with Nobunaga. He entered the room, followed by Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke.

"She'll be fine physically, but I won't know about her mental state until she wakes up… She received quite a shock today, after all." Ayako said.

"Why did our lord want us to bring this shortie back anyway?" Kuranosuke asked. "Shouldn't we have left her with the other villagers?"

"But isn't she a foreigner, like Ayako? She's wearing those weird clothes, and I've never seen anyone fight like that before!" Inuchiyo said as he stared at Kasane like a curious pup.

"Well, she's definitely not from around _here_." Ayako said cryptically.

Gorouza glanced at Ayako out the corner of his eye. He could tell she knew more than she was letting on. Ayako had a mysterious background as well. All she had told them was that she was part Japanese and originally from 'somewhere far away,' and that she had nowhere else to go. He had been slightly surprised when the lord had told them that Ayako would be joining them as a fighter, since it was uncommon for women to become warriors, but so far, Ayako had proved to be a reliable ally. In addition to being able to fight, Ayako also had medical knowledge she called 'first aid' that she had learned when she was a '**Girl** **Scout**.' So, they not only had an additional fighter, but it was as good as traveling with a doctor when they were on missions, which would significantly reduce the number of casualties. The door slid open again, and Nobunaga entered the room.

"My Lord!" The three boys said and quickly bowed. Ayako bowed as well, though hers was a little less flustered.

"Report." Nobunaga said to Ayako.

"As I thought earlier, she's uninjured. She just fainted from shock and fatigue. She'll wake up on her own, once she's recovered. It would be best to let her rest for now." Ayako said. "How are the other soldiers?"

"Most of them have already been tended to, but when one of the soldiers was stabbed, the tip of the sword's blade broke off, and it's stuck in the wound, along with a small piece of his clothing. The other doctors said that the wound itself wasn't severe enough to kill him, but they said that they don't know how to remove the blade and piece of cloth without injuring him more. If they don't remove it, the wound will fester, and he could loose his arm, or die from the infection." Nobunaga said. Ayako nodded.

"I understand. I'll go take a look." Ayako said determinedly, and left the room to head to where she knew the injured soldiers were being treated. That soldier wasn't going to become a victim of an infection, not on her watch. Nobunaga watched Ayako as she left and closed the door behind her.

"Pick that up, we're moving her to a safer place." Nobunaga ordered, referring to the still unconscious Kasane.

"Safer…?" Gorouza asked as Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke picked Kasane up.

"I want her moved to one of the empty cells." Nobunaga said.

"But my Lord, Kasane fought alongside us. Why would you confine her?" Gorouza asked, confused. 'Is this why he waited for Ayako to leave…? She would never accept something like this quietly…' Gorouza thought.

"We cannot be sure of her intentions. We still do not know where she's from, or what she was even doing there in the first place. Helping you fight mutually benefited her as well, this time, since she needed to escape. Just because she aided you once, does not mean we can completely trust her. I won't be able to determine that until she regains consciousness, and I can question her. So, she will be confined to a cell, for now." Nobunaga stated before turning on his heel and leaving. Gorouza sighed and looked at Kasane.

'He does have a point…' Gorouza thought, reluctantly. "Sorry, Kasane…" Gorouza said as they carried the sleeping girl away.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Ayako sighed, tired, as she washed the blood off of her hands. Those doctors were such wusses. It turned out all they had to do in order to remove the blade fragment and cloth, was to make a very small incision to widen the wound. Then, she used two acupuncture needles as chopsticks, in place of tweezers, to carefully remove the objects from the wound. The she cleaned the wound, disinfected it with alcohol, and stitched the wound shut. Then she gave the soldier a little of the left over sake to drink. Hopefully it would dull some of the poor guy's pain.

'I could really use a warm shower… How I miss modern plumbing…' Ayako thought. She was coated in sweat and grime from everything she had been through throughout the day. She could still bathe of course, and she definitely would, but first she had to draw the water from the well… and it would be cold.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{A nice, relaxing bath later…}

Ayako sighed contentedly as she walked back to her room, ready to settle down for the night. She opened the door to her room. Ayako's eyes widened in surprise when she didn't see Kasane. She didn't think Kasane would wake up until the next day. Ayako spun around, about to run off and find her, worried she might be wandering the castle alone, and possibly getting herself into trouble. Ayako took one step forward without looking, and slammed unto someone's chest.

"!" Ayako said in surprise as she bounced off of whoever it was and landed on her butt on the floor. She looked up to see Nobunaga staring down at her. "…Um, hi? If it's about the soldier, he'll be fine. I already removed to blade and cloth from his wound and stitched him up. He'll be fine as long as he keeps the wound clean, and I'll remove the stitches in a few weeks, once he's healed." Ayako said. "Have you seen Kasane? I left her here, in my room, but now she's gone. I was sure she'd end up sleeping through the night…"

"No, she's still unconscious. I had her moved to a cell." Nobunaga said calmly.

"What…_!_?" Ayako shouted incredulously. "Why_!_?" Nobunaga sighed. He should've just made Gorouza explain it to her, but he knew she would just march over and demand to hear his reasons from him, in person, anyway.

"I understand that she aided you, and you must especially feel like you need to defend her since she could possibly be from your time as well, but until I am certain of her intentions, I will not let her roam free and unguarded in my castle. And don't tell her you're from the future yet. I want to see what she will do first." Nobunaga said firmly. Ayako and Nobunaga stared at each other for a while before Ayako finally gave in, after considering where he was coming from. She knew it was the smart move to make, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She sighed in defeat.

"I understand… I don't agree, but I understand." Ayako said, hanging her head in defeat. Her answer satisfied Nobunaga because he knew that it meant Ayako wouldn't cause any unnecessary trouble by planning a jailbreak, at least not until tomorrow… He watched as a few water droplets dripped from her wet hair and onto the floor.

"…" Nobunaga said as he furrowed his brow slightly in disapproval. He took the towel from where Ayako had draped it over her shoulder and began using it to dry her hair, rubbing it roughly over her head.

"Hey…_!_?" Ayako said in surprise as the young lord roughly dried her hair against her will.

"Are you, a child? At least dry your hair properly, before worrying about others. You keep forgetting that unlike your era, with its advanced medical technology, a cold is not a simple matter here." Nobunaga scolded her, giving her a sharp look. Ayako sweat dropped when she saw his withering glare.

'I still don't see why he has to get so mad about it…' Ayako thought. "Thanks, mom." Ayako deadpanned. Nobunaga responded to that smart-alec remark by rolling up the towel and smacking her backside with it, like a whip.

"Quiet, you." Nobunaga said.

"!" Ayako yelped, more out of surprise than out of pain. She stared at Nobunaga incredulously. 'Did he seriously just _towel-whip_ me on the _butt_…_!_?' Ayako thought, stunned.

She didn't know whether she should laugh or hit him… well, hitting him would probably have some pretty _severe_ consequences. She realized Nobunaga was actually suppressing a smirk when she looked at him. Even if he was a lord, he was still a teenage boy. Teasing Ayako had become a hobby of his, since it was so entertaining. He found it amused him to watch her get all riled up. She was probably the only one in the castle who had enough guts to tell him off, despite the consequences that angering a lord could have. Ayako decided he was having _way_ too much fun at her expense.

"Oh, it's on, now!" Ayako said, throwing caution to the wind.

"Before that, you might want to take a look in the mirror." Nobunaga said.

"Huh…?" Ayako said, curious about what he could mean. She went over to the small chest she kept her items from the future in and pulled out her compact mirror. "…_!_?" She yelled when she saw her reflection.

All the friction, from when Nobunaga had been rubbing her hair dry, had turned her long, curly, blond hair into a half-Afro. Her jaw dropped. She whipped her head around to yell at Nobunaga for messing up her hair, but he had already escaped. Ayako's eye twitched in frustration. What was the score now? Nobunaga: 5, Ayako: 0…

'I am _so_ going to get him back one of these days…' Ayako thought darkly as she started trying to untangle the mess Nobunaga had made of her hair.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{The next day}

"Did you hear about the battle at Akatsuka?" A farmer asked one of his friends as the three of them worked in the field.

"Yeah, I heard we were betrayed by the master of Narumi." One friend answered as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his towel.

"… Anyways. Our new lord probably won't last long." The third friend, who was carrying the basket to collect the harvested rice in, said.

"He just idles around everyday, and won't listen to his vassals." The first man said.

"Yeah, yeah. It's rumored that he picked up another foreigner in that battle the other day, in addition to that golden-haired one he already took in." Towel man said.

"Why would he do something like that?" Basket man asked. The three men had no idea someone was eavesdropping on them from the tree above them.

"I have no idea. I don't understand anything our lord does, but with that kind of fool as a lord, is this country really going to be okay…?" Towel man said.

"…" The mysterious woman, a kunoichi, in the tree said as she listened to their conversation.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Owari, Nagoya Castle}

"Lord Nobunaga! I've heard… that you picked up a strange girl at Narumi. Is that true_!_?" A man, who had a face that only a mother could love, shouted as he leaned in, too close to Nobunaga's face for comfort.

"Sado." Nobunaga said calmly as he stared back at the man.

"Yes?" The man said, panting after yelling his lungs out at the young lord.

"_You're face is just too much."_ Nobunaga said bluntly as he stuck his foot out, and used it to push the man's face away. "And you're too close."

"Mph!" The man said in surprise when Nobunaga's foot suddenly smacked into his face. "What are you doing_!_?" The man demanded indignantly, as he braced himself from where he was kneeling on the floor, and pushed back. Nobunaga's foot trembled slightly from the strain of fighting to push the man away with only one leg. "The Hayashi family, with our strong visage, has been serving the Oda family for generations!" The man said indignantly. He gave up trying to fight with Nobunaga and sat back down, a little further away this time. "I'm the chief advisor to the Oda family, Hayashi Sado no Kami Hidesada. Today, I will fully explain what is required of you in your capacity as Lord Nobunaga—Hey! Are you listening to me_!_?" Sado yelled when he noticed Nobunaga was playing with one of his cats and wasn't even looking at him anymore.

"Sure, sure." Nobunaga said boredly, obviously ignoring the older man.

"That's a blatant lie!" Sado shouted. "Honestly, cats, dogs, retainers… things just keep popping up, one after the other. It's such a nuisance." Another cat came over and started rubbing up against Sado. He tried to shoo it away. "The Yamaguchi's betrayal occurring so soon after you inherited your position has shaken the people's faith. As things stand, the army that your father, Lord Nobuhide, formed with such care… might be snatched away from you without warning."

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at Sado, his brow furrowed slightly in irritation. He frowned at Sado. **"Bite."** Nobunaga ordered his cats. Ayako had been training them in '**English**' during her free time, just to see if she could. The two felines immediately latched onto Sado, biting his arm.

"Gyaaah!" Sado yelled in pain and alarm. "Wh–Wh–What was that for_!_?" He shouted indignantly as he held his bleeding arm. The cats let go and sauntered off, as though they hadn't just mauled a human being.

"Hmph. Enough trivial crap. If you're going to preach at me, tell me something more interesting." Nobunaga said, smiling wickedly.

"!" Sado said. "I'm looking out for your best interests—"

"If I may cut in." Another man said from the side. Nobunaga glanced at the man. It was the chief retainer to the Oda family, Shibata Gonroku Katsuie. Although he had multiple scars on his face, he was still fairly handsome… especially compared to Sado. "While Owari is divided by the conflicts between its upper four districts, governed by Oda Ise no Kami, and its lower four districts, governed by Oda Yamato no Kami… That we have managed to amass the strength we currently have… is thanks to your father's many efforts." He said. "Passing this off as trivial… does little to put us at ease."

"… Gonroku." Nobunaga said as he stared at the man. "Were you here too? With Hayashi in my face, I didn't notice." Both of the older men flinched in shock.

"_I swear I was here!_?" Gonroku shouted, slightly blue with shock. He cleared his throat and regained his composure. "… Anyway, you didn't address all of your vassals' concerns in your speech." He said more calmly. "Regarding our deceased lord, and your position on your younger brother, Lord Nobuyuki—"

"… Hmph." Nobunaga said, interrupting him. "Every time you trek over here from Suemori… you guys are like a broken record." He reached out and grabbed his sword that had been lying on the floor beside him. "Father this, father that… Nobuyuki this, Nobuyuki that…" Sado gulped nervously as Nobunaga spoke. His bangs hid his eyes, and they could only imagine what fearsome expression the young lord's concealed eyes held. Nobunaga suddenly raised his sword, and slammed it into the floor with such force, that if it hadn't still been in it's sheathe, the sword probably would've cut right through the floor. The cats jumped and hissed in shock.

"Be careful of what you say, Hayashi, Shibata. _I am_ Lord of Owari." Nobunaga said, his brow furrowed in irritation.

"…!" The two men said, sweating nervously. Sado shivered in fear.

"I have my own ways of doing things." Nobunaga said, drawing his sword. "If you can't stomach it…"

"Ah!" Sado said, flinching when he realized Nobunaga was aiming his sword at him. _"Wait—"_ He cried as he fell backwards, and tried to scoot away.

_SWISH!_

"I'll slice you apart!" Nobunaga said as he swung his sword in an 'X' formation, slicing apart the sliding doors behind Sado.

Sado went blue with shock, fearing for his life, not realizing that Nobunaga hadn't ever really intended to kill him at all. Nobunaga wasn't stupid enough to kill such an important vassal over something so trivial. The sliced door fell apart, revealing a chagrined Ayako and a shocked young nobleman. They were both holding flowers. They watched as a few strands of the boy's bangs and a stray hair, sticking out the top of Ayako's high-ponytail, that had been sliced off when the sword passed through the door, fluttered down to the ground.

"…" Nobunaga said as he stared at them and put his sword away. He didn't think anyone would be standing there. He hadn't heard them approaching. Nobunaga noticed that Ayako had been holding her arm out in front of Nobuyuki. She must have heard the commotion inside and realized what was happening. Ayako had probably stopped him just in time. If Nobuyuki had been any closer, Nobunaga would've ended up cutting off more than just a few hairs.

"L—Lord Nobuyuki!" Gonroku cried, shocked and worried when he saw that Nobunaga's younger brother had been standing in such a dangerous place. Nobuyuki sweat dropped and timidly scratched his cheek.

"Um…" Nobuyuki said, not quite sure what had just happened.

"… Is this a bad time…?" Ayako asked, sweat dropping. She had never been so glad to be short before. The sword had passed just and inch above her head… if anyone of an average height or taller had been standing there… they would've lost their head. Gonroku dashed over to them.

"Wh–What were you doing standing there? A–Are you injured?" Gonroku asked, sweating nervously, and slightly blue with shock over what had almost happened. Sado was sitting on the floor, white as a ghost and frozen in fear.

"Not at all. You're overreacting, Shibata." Nobuyuki said, sweat dropping and smiling a little nervously. "I saw Ayako looking at some of the flowers in the garden that had been trampled, so I was helping her prune them." Nobunaga glanced at them. Ayako shook her head, answering his question before he even had to ask.

"Nobuyuki." Nobunaga said.

"Y-Yes_!_?" Nobuyuki said, snapping to attention, eager to please his older brother.

"Was there anyone else with you?" Nobunaga asked.

"N-No!" Nobuyuki said. "Oh, but… if you mean Tenrou…" Ayako noticed the little spark in Nobunaga's eyes when he heard that.

"Tenrou? Isn't that the hawk Lord Nobunaga keeps?" Gonroku said.

"Yeah. He was with Ayako. It looked like he had just returned from somewhere, but he went off somewhere when I got close. He really doesn't seem to like me so much." Nobuyuki said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyway, the gardens here are really well-kept. It really does feel nice when every last nook and cranny is perfect." They young nobleman said as he looked out at the garden. "I admire your diligence, brother. I hope to learn from your example and become of use to you." Nobuyuki said, blushing a little shyly, as he praised his older brother, like a cute little kid praising his hero.

"Lord Nobuyuki." Gonroku said. "He left some time ago. Himura Ayako is gone too."

"Ah! Brother!" Nobuyuki cried in dismay when he looked up and saw that his brother and Ayako really had disappeared on him.

"Truly, that man is like a storm." Sado said, having finally recovered from his little scare earlier. "Owari isn't going to go anywhere like this." He sighed.

"Hayashi." Nobuyuki said. "My brother has his own ideas. It is not our place to interrupt him."

"… Yes, Sir." Sado said as he and Gonroku exchanged a glance.


	8. It's My Way Or The Highway

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>"Did you get it?" Nobunaga asked as he and Ayako walked along the outside porch. Once he had heard that Tenrou had returned, and that Ayako had already greeted the hawk, he had yanked her away by the collar of her kimono. Tenrou usually didn't let anyone other than himself and a very <em>few<em> select others get that close to him, but the hawk had gotten attached to Ayako. She was just an animal magnet… or something. Ayako handed him the little note that had been tied to Tenrou's claw.

"Here. I didn't read it yet, of course." Ayako said. Nobunaga took the little note that had been rolled up into a scroll, and read it over as they walked.

"… What is it?" Ayako asked curiously. It looked important from the way Nobunaga was concentrating on it so hard. Nobunaga rolled the little scroll back up.

"You'll see. Right now, there's something I want you to do." Nobunaga said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

_~Dream Mode~_

_Kasane panted as she ran through the darkness._

'_I'm in trouble... Where am I…?' Kasane thought, panicking as she stared into the dark and empty void around her. 'I have to hurry home and make dinner.' She noticed something move out the corner of her eye. "Ah!" Kasane said in relief. She had finally run into another person. 'Thank God, someone's here!' Kasane thought. For some reason, she didn't find it at all strange that the person who appeared was a faceless, armored samurai. "Um, Excuse me! Do you know where we are? I've… been looking for my house and my family. Ah! By family, I just mean my brothers. Oh, and Grandpa. Their names are Masamune and Kotetsu. I'm just wandering round and round here, and it's scary." Kasane said, smiling and rubbing the back of her neck._

"_RoUnD… aNd RoUnD…" The samurai said moaned._

"_Yeah, round and…" Kasane said. "Rou—" Blood splattered onto her face as the samurai was suddenly impaled by a spear, and it's head was decapitated. Kasane froze, horrified, as she watched the samurai's head roll on the ground._

"_RoUnD aNd RoUnD…" The head continued to moan. Kasane screamed._

"… _A—"_

_~End Dream~_

"—Aaaaahhhh!" Kasane screamed as she jolted awake, clutching her knees as she sat up and tried to steady her breathing. She heard a clatter and whipped her head around to see what it was, fearing the worst. It was a cat… The cat hissed at her. "I was dreaming… Where am I?" The cat continued to hiss at her. "And why are you so puffed up—"

SNAP.

"Gah! My body hurts…" Kasane cried in pain as her back cracked. She was stiff after sleeping on the hard floor all night… She was in some kind of prison cell again. They had at least given her a blanket though.

CLACK.

"Oh! Ah…" Kasane said when she looked up and saw that the person approaching her was a woman. The woman glanced at her apprehensively. "Umm… excuse me!" Kasane said. The woman slammed down the tray of food she had been carrying and ran away. "Ahh! Wait!" Kasane yelled as she reached out between the grid of wooden bars. Kasane watched as the woman ran and talked to some of her fellow servants. They _thought_ they were whispering, but Kasane could still hear them.

"…That one, right? The girl who our lord brought back. Take a look at her…" The woman said.

"She can use a sword. Our lord doesn't know what to make of her either." Another woman said.

"She gives me the creeps. She's worse than that weird golden-haired foreigner… look at those strange clothes. Let's go." A third woman said.

"… That's right." Kasane said as they left. "I—" 'This really… isn't a 'dream.' Though it seems to be the 'Sengoku era,' I don't know anything for sure.' Kasane thought, feeling a little discouraged. "Masamune… Kotetsu." Kasane said sadly, already missing her brothers. "Just how… did I end up here…?" Kasane heard a 'drip-drop' sound and looked at the floor in front of her cell, where she had been leaning while zoning out. "… Eh_!_? I'm not crying, I'm not!" Kasane said, surprised and confused when she saw drops of clear liquid on the floor. "Hm?" Kasane said when she realized she wasn't alone. The long-haired, dog-like boy from before, Inuchiyo, was crouching on the floor in front of her cell. A waterfall of drool was flowing from his mouth as he stared longingly at the tray of food they had left for her. He was giving her sparkling, sad puppy-eyes that just begged her to let him have it. "I met you at that castle… Inu… Inu-something…" Kasane said, sweat dropping.

"Hey! Stop that, Inuchiyo!" Gorouza scolded him as he and Kuranosuke came to join them. "That's Kasane's breakfast. You ate earlier, didn't you?"

"Stupid dog." Kuranosuke muttered.

"Gorouza_!_?" Kasane said, surprised and relieved to see her dependable ally from the other day. "And—" Kasane said, stopping short when she realized she forgot Kuranosuke's name. "… Who are you again? A kid?" Kuranosuke was so short compared to the others…

"Am not! I'm Sassa Kuranosuke! I told you at Narumi!" Kuranosuke yelled indignantly, a vein mark throbbing on his temple.

"Was that it…?" Kasane said. "But, what happened?" She asked, wondering why she couldn't remember how or why she ended up in a prison cell again.

"Our lord ordered us to see you. This is our lord's castle." Gorouza said. Ayako had already warned him not to force Kasane to remember anything about her witnessing the enemy soldier's death, since that seemed to be what had caused her to faint before… something about Kasane's mind repressing the memory for her own good, until she could handle it...

"What happened to that foreign girl?" Kasane asked, referring to Ayako.

"Oh, Ayako? I'm sure she'll come to visit you herself soon. She's finishing up some chores for our lord at the moment. She was very concerned about you. How do you feel?" Gorouza said.

Ayako had been busy doing chores all morning. Since the soldiers were already against having a woman join their ranks, so Ayako worked twice as hard, just to shut them up. He had offered to try to convince Nobunaga to lessen her workload, but she said she was used to it from having to live in a similar situation before, and just continued to work, though she often sang songs in a strange language while she did…

"I would like to offer to send you back to your village… but our lord said that was unnecessary, and ordered you to the prison." Gorouza said.

"Hmph, forget about it, Gorouza. She's really suspicious. Even though our lord told us to bring her…" Kuranosuke said. "She's probably a foreigner."

'The lord brought me here…' Kasane thought. Kasane raised her hand slightly. "Ah, no, I'm not a foreigner, but… My home and my family… are probably gone… so…" Kasane said, starting to gradually feel more and more depressed as she thought about it. "I'm not some suspicious girl…" Kasane said sadly, entering her own little corner of woe, as she stared numbly out the tiny window to the outside that was in the back wall of her cell. She was so gloomy, mushrooms were starting to pop up around her. Gorouza and Inuchiyo whipped their heads around to stare at Kuranosuke in disapproval.

"Kuranosuke, how could you say that_!_?" Gorouza scolded him.

"Yeah, Kura!" Inuchiyo said, frowning as he munched on one of Kasane's rice balls.

"What! What'd I do_!_? And anyways, whose food are you eating, now_!_?" Kuranosuke said indignantly. Kasane perked up a bit when two cute little sparrows landed on the ledge of the window. Kasane stared at the two little birds as they tweeted happily at her. They reminded her of Masamune and Kotetsu. Being reminded of the brothers she could no longer see, just made Kasane feel even gloomier. Gorouza and Inuchiyo stared at Kuranosuke accusingly.

"This time it wasn't my fault!" Kuranosuke yelled, a vein mark throbbing on his head. Gorouza sighed.

"… Anyway, things could get better or worse from here." Gorouza said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Excuse me…" Kasane said as they all relaxed in the courtyard. Inuchiyo was playing with a dog, and then the two of them started chasing Kuranosuke.

"Yes?" Gorouza asked.

"Am I really allowed… to wander around here like this? Since your lord is mad…" Kasane asked.

"We're still inside the castle grounds. We can afford to at least do this much for you." Gorouza said as he handed Kasane a cup of water.

"Thanks." Kasane said, accepting the cup.

"Oh! There you are!" Ayako said as she jogged over to them. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late! It took me longer than usual to finish the cleaning. How are you holding up Kasane?"

"—I don't… really know what I should do." Kasane admitted. "Up until yesterday, I went to school, was in my club, and was living a normal student's life. Then I suddenly get sent here, and someone dies right in front of me…" Kasane covered her mouth as she fought the urge no to throw up. Ayako placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Earlier, you mentioned your village and family were gone… was it in a fight?" Gorouza asked.

"No, that's not it at all." Kasane said quickly, not wanting them to get the wrong idea and worry. "I'm not… from this era." Everyone froze and the guys all stared at her, stunned. Kuranosuke didn't even react when the dog started chewing on his clothes. They were afraid that maybe they'd broken her somehow.

'Ah… she actually went and said it...' Ayako thought, sweat dropping.

"Eh_!_? Huh?" Kasane said when she realized how quiet everyone had suddenly gotten. "What's with this atmosphere?"

"… Gorouza." Kuranosuke said. "I _told_ you she's a spy! And she's totally suspicious!" He shouted, pointing accusingly at Kasane. Ayako sighed and face-palmed. That sort of reaction was exactly why she hadn't said anything similar about herself.

"No, I'm not!" Kasane yelled defensively.

"Hey, hey! Do you like dogs?" Inuchiyo asked, smiling, like Kasane hadn't just said something that made her sound insane. The dog they had been playing with came over and wagged its tail at them. It realized Ayako was there and tackled her to the ground, licking her face. Animals _really_ liked Ayako.

"Ugh! Whoa, down boy!" Ayako said as she tried to keep the dog from slobbering all over her. Ayako liked dogs, but she didn't want to be covered in one's spit.

"Everyone settle down." Gorouza said firmly. "And put Kurochiyo away, Inuchiyo. He's too rowdy." Gorouza turned to address Kasane while Inuchiyo pried the dog, Kurochiyo, off of Ayako. "Kasane, if you're truly lost here… I'll help you out."

"Same here." Ayako said.

"Gorouza, Ayako…" Kasane said, touched. "But—But why_!_? The other people ran away from me!"

"To be honest, I don't believe that you're from another era, but… I saw you fight at Narumi. At the least, I don't think you're someone that'll do us harm. Please rest up properly… until you've calmed down." Gorouza said, smiling kindly. Kasane was trembling with happiness and relief at being accepted by someone in this strange world she was stuck in.

"I believe you, by the way." Ayako said, smiling at Kasane. Although Nobunaga had told her not to say anything about the future to Kasane, saying she didn't think that Kasane was crazy, wasn't the same as telling her that she was from the future too, and Kasane deserved to hear it.

"Hmph, you're both too easy on her! I'm not about to trust her so easily. Though, I guess she didn't hesitate to fight at Narumi…" Kuranosuke said. Inuchiyo and Kurochiyo jumped and tackled Kasane and Kuranosuke to the ground, sitting on top of their backs.

"It's all good to me~!" Inuchiyo said happily.

"Why you…!" Kuranosuke growled at him, a vein popping on his forehead.

"Inuchiyo, Kuranosuke…" Kasane said, touched. "You're kind of heavy…" Kuranosuke managed to break free, and started chasing Inuchiyo around the courtyard again, followed by Kurochiyo.

"Anyway, this castle sure is full of animals." Kasane said, laughing.

"They're all attached to our lord. They're all strays." Ayako said.

"Speaking of which, you still haven't told me your lord's name. He saved me, so I have to thank him." Kasane said.

'Oh dear… I wonder how she'll react when she finds out…' Ayako thought. It's not everyday you find out that you're staying in the castle of a famous historical figure.

"I haven't? He's Lord Nobunaga." Gorouza said, smiling.

"…" Kasane said, freezing mid-smile. _"… Eh?"_

"He's the one who had you brought here." Gorouza explained. Ayako heard the wooden floorboard of the porch creak, and turned to see who was approaching them.

'Speak of the devil, and he shall appear…' Ayako thought.

"He is the lord of Owari, Lord Oda Kazusanosuke Nobunaga." Gorouza said as Nobunaga came up behind them.

"…!" Kasane said. "Nobu—!" Nobunaga swung his sword, still sheathed, and pistol-whipped—I mean 'katana-whipped'—Gorouza, Kuranosuke, and Inuchiyo. Ayako had just barely managed to dodge.

"Tch." Nobunaga said, clicking his tongue in disappointment when Ayako got away. Well, he really hadn't expected anything less from her.

"!" Kasane said.

"Did you_ really_ just click your tongue at me…_!_?" Ayako asked indignantly.

"Wh-What're you…_!_?" Kasane shouted, appalled at how Nobunaga was treating her new friends.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

'What was that crash…?' Nobuyuki wondered. He could hear the commotion all the way from where he had stayed behind to talk to Gonroku.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Who said to let her roam freely?" Nobunaga said in a commanding voice.

"…!" Gorouza said, realizing his mistake. "My apologies…" He said, bowing.

"Th-That's not what happened!" Kasane said quickly, cutting into the conversation. "Gorouza and everyone just wanted to cheer me up—"

"Girl." Nobunaga said as he stared Kasane down. Kasane flinched under his intimidating stare. "What… are you going to do now?"

"…?" Kasane said, nervous and confused. "… Do… do…? Like what…?" Nobunaga closed his eyes, no longer looking at Kasane. He had hoped this strange new girl would be at least half as interesting as Ayako, but all he could see in her at the moment was hesitation, fear, and uncertainty.

"My three idiots… plus one." Nobunaga said. A vein mark popped on Ayako's head.

'Is that 'plus one' supposed to be me?' Ayako thought, annoyed. For some reason, Nobunaga had nicknamed the three guys his 'three idiots' or 'three fools' long before she arrived.

"Take this girl… and cast her into the western Kayatsu River." Nobunaga ordered. They all stared at him in shock. "That is your punishment for just letting her out of her cell."

"P-Please wait, my Lord!" Ayako said.

"Kasane just regained consciousness… after you ordered her brought here from Narumi. I don't understand why you would wish to abandon her right away!" Gorouza said earnestly as he stood up and approached Nobunaga.

"Gorouza." Nobunaga said, and harshly pushed him back again, with his sword.

"Ghg…!" Gorouza grunted in pain.

"I don't require you to understand." Nobunaga said coldly. As if on cue, Tenrou flew down and landed on his master's shoulder. "Follow Tenrou. I don't need… things I can't use in my castle. Got it, girl? If you try to run and hide, I'll take the heads of these four. Understand?"


	9. Decision On Blasted Ground

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_Take this girl… and cast her into the western Kayatsu River." Nobunaga ordered. They all stared at him in shock. "That is your punishment for just letting her out of her cell."_

"_P-Please wait, my Lord!" Ayako said._

"_Kasane just regained consciousness… after you ordered her brought here from Narumi. I don't understand why you would wish to abandon her right away!" Gorouza said earnestly as he stood up and approached Nobunaga._

"_Gorouza." Nobunaga said, and harshly pushed him back again, with his sword._

"_Ghg…!" Gorouza grunted in pain. _

"_I don't require you to understand." Nobunaga said coldly. As if on cue, Tenrou flew down and landed on his master's shoulder. "Follow Tenrou. I don't need… things I can't use in my castle. Got it, girl? If you try to run and hide, I'll take the heads of these four. Understand?"_

* * *

><p>"Brother! What was that crash just now…<em>!<em>?" Nobuyuki yelled, concerned, as he ran onto the scene. "Aren't Niwa Gorouza and those guys… vassals that have your favor?"

"Nobuyuki. Go home." Nobunaga said. "I don't have the time to talk with you now."

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{On the way to the western Kayatsu River…}

It was such a beautiful day as the five of them rode their horses on the open road… Well, technically, only four of them were actually riding their own horses, Kasane was hitching a ride with Gorouza. The sky was clear and blue as Tenrou the hawk soared through the air… You'd never guess they were about to abandon someone in a river, of all places.

"I don't like him." Kasane said bluntly, furrowing her brow, as she thought about how Nobunaga had treated everyone. "Or rather, I don't understand him."

"Yeah, our lord works in mysterious ways…" Ayako said, sympathetically. She thought she might have a vague idea of what this was about… probably something to do with that note he had just gotten… but since Nobunaga hadn't told her anything, Ayako could only guess, like the others.

"Whether he's the _real_ Nobunaga or whatever… there's no way I'll get along with him!" Kasane huffed. "And anyways, why'd he send four people just for me..? I'm sorry, Gorouza, Ayako. You've been nothing but nice to me, and look what good it did you."

"No, you helped us… with your strength." Gorouza said.

"We helped you because we wanted to. It's not like we did it for a reward or anything." Ayako said.

"I wish I could offer to let you go, but…" Gorouza said, feeling bad for Kasane, but they all knew what was in store for them if they disobeyed Nobunaga's order. "And I don't know what Tenrou would do, either."

"Ah… that's true…" Ayako said, sweat dropping. Tenrou was a tough and really dangerous hawk when he didn't like you. Ayako was sure the hawk was a reincarnated ninja–assassin, or something.

"Oh, no!" Kasane said, quickly. "If I caused you anymore grief, I don't know what would become of those two…" Kasane said as the three of them glanced over at Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke, who were in their own little corner of woe, and looked like the life had been sucked out of them, or as if their best friend had just died. Inuchiyo was mumbling incoherent things about how 'our lord got mad,' and Ayako could've sworn she saw Kuranosuke's soul starting to leave his body. "Excuse me…" Kasane said, concerned.

"Shaddup! Don't talk! You're a plague! Why'd my grand plan have to come to this_!_?" Kuranosuke hissed at Kasane, his words stabbing her. He looked like an angry cat that had been suddenly been thrown into a bucket of ice water.

"That's enough, Kuranosuke." Ayako said sternly. "Kasane didn't force you to do anything, so don't take it out on her."

"Ugh… you all really like the lord. I'm sorry…" Kasane said, drooping as her gloomy mood returned.

"That's because we were all originally like you, Kasane." Gorouza said. "Ayako is a foreigner who became stranded here without a home, and we're the second and third sons of warriors under our lord. We were destined to waste our days away at home, without any inheritance, before our lord picked us out to serve him. So, even at times like these, we owe our lord a heavy debt." Gorouza said. Gorouza was the second son of his family. Kuranosuke was the third son of his family, and Inuchiyo was the fourth son of his.

"I'm done for…" Kuranosuke muttered darkly.

"Anyway, you can swim, right, Kasane? At the very least, we can try to find where the river's current is the weakest. He said we have to throw you in, but he didn't say where, or that we had to make sure you drowned." Ayako said. "Yay, loopholes~!" Inuchiyo twitched.

"Hm?" Inuchiyo said, coming out of his stupor and sniffing the air.

"What is it?" Gorouza asked.

"Smells like something's burning…" Inuchiyo said.

"Eh?" Kasane said.

"What is…?" Ayako asked as a village came into view. The saw smoke rising from the houses, and people were screaming and running around, in a panic.

"The village… is under attack…_!_?" Gorouza said, startled.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"The farmer's are to harvest it all! Anyone who resists will have their homes burned down! The Kiyosu soldiers are taking this village!" An enemy soldier shouted as they raided the village.

"Kiyosu soldiers…!" Gorouza said as they watched, assessing the situation, and trying to form a plan from where they had hidden themselves in the tall grass, near the edge of the village. Once they had seen the fires, they had decided to park their horses somewhere safe and check it out to see if they could help somehow. Tenrou was perched on Ayako's shoulder.

"Kiyosu?" Kasane asked.

"Within Owari province, they're the most powerful opposition against Lord Nobunaga." Ayako explained.

"What now? Should we go?" Kuranosuke asked.

"No, there are only four of us. We shave to send someone to Nagoya to report this." Gorouza said, not counting Kasane, since she wasn't technically a soldier.

"But even if we go now, our lord won't be able to—" Ayako said, but she was cut off by the loud crashing sound one of the houses made as it collapsed in on itself from too much fire damage. People were screaming, and children were crying. "We have to do something now!" Ayako said.

"… The homes… are gone…" Kasane said as she suddenly stood up.

"Eh…?" Gorouza said. Kasane suddenly shot off faster than a hare being chased by a hungry wolf, sprinting towards the burning village.

"K-Kasane_!_?" Gorouza and Ayako yelled after her in surprise.

"Tch! What's that girl thinking_!_?" Kuranosuke said.

"This is bad!" Gorouza said. "We can at least get the villagers across the river—"

"Ah!" Ayako gasped, finally realizing what Nobunaga's plan had been. Gorouza and Ayako shared a look of understanding. _This_ was why Nobunaga had told them to go the western Kayatsu River.

'Don't tell me… he knew…?' Gorouza thought. Ayako glanced at Tenrou to find the bird staring at her expectantly.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Ugh…!" Kasane coughed as she tried to beat the flames out on a nearby house with a random blanket she had found. 'The flames are spreading quickly…!' Kasane thought. "I need something… to put out the fire…" She said as she frantically beat at the flames with the ratty blanket. "Ah!" Kasane yelped when someone grabbed her shoulder. She turned to see it was a villager, a man old enough to be her father.

"What are you doing_!_?" He yelled. "Forget that, just run!"

"But… the house…!" Kasane said.

"This isn't the time to worry about that! Hurry and run!" He yelled. "The soldiers—" An enemy soldier suddenly appeared behind the man, and raised his sword.

'…Eh?' Kasane thought as she shivered in fear, frozen in place.

SLAM!

Gorouza had managed to jump in front of Kasane and the villager just in the nick of time, and block the attack with his zanbato.

"Gorouza!" Kasane yelled in surprise and relief.

"Tenrou flew off to the castle!" Ayako said as she ran up to them as well, her long dirty-blond hair was flowing freely behind her. Ayako had tied her hair ribbon to Tenrou's leg since they didn't have anything with them to write with or on, knowing that Nobunaga would understand that it meant they ran into trouble, and where.

"Good! We'll evacuate the villagers until our lord can make his move!" Gorouza said.

"Got it, I'll go sweep the area for survivors with the others! Be careful!" Ayako said and dashed off.

"Y-Yeah!" Kasane said. She glanced at the village man beside her, and she realized that her hands were shaking. 'Why… are my hands… trembling…?' The image of the soldier that she had seen being speared, right in front of her the other day, flashed across her mind; Kasane broke out into a cold sweat and clenched her fist.

"Dad!" A young boy yelled. Kasane snapped out of it and looked up to see a young boy holding a garden hoe and was with what appeared to be his mother and little sister. "Quick!" They boy yelled at his father, the man who had pulled Kasane away from the burning house.

"Eeek_!_?" Kasane yelped in pain when the man slapped her on the back.

"_Living_ comes first. No matter how tough it is, if your family's waiting for you, nothing else matters much." The man said. "You've… got a family waiting for you, don't you, Miss?"

"…Yeah, I do!" Kasane said. The man smiled.

"That's the spirit." The man said. "So, hurry up and run…"

"I'm borrowing this!" Kasane said as she grabbed the hoe from his son and ran off. "Sorry I can't help put out the fire!"

"Eh?" The boy said, surprised.

"Ah, hey! The fighting's that way—" The man yelled after her, as Kasane zoomed away and left them in her dust.

"Wow, she's fast!" The boy said.

'—Just what… am I doing?' Kasane thought as she ran and tightened her grip on the hoe.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

CLANG!

Ayako blocked another attack, and slammed her substitute weapon into the man's neck The pressure on his windpipe made him pass out and fall unconscious on the ground. Since her good hanbo had been broken yesterday, the weapon she was currently using, was actually just a piece of scrap timber that she had found lying around the castle. So, it wasn't holding up very well under such brutal attacks. The stick had started to crack and splinter. Ayako grit her teeth and grabbed the defeated soldier's katana as another enemy soldier charged at her. Ayako hadn't been trained with a katana, but she had heard from her uncle that most samurai would learn hanbo techniques first, because they were similar to the techniques used in wielding a katana. Since her weapon of choice was falling apart, she figured now was the time to test it out.

"Oi, what are you planning to do with that…_!_?" Kuranosuke yelled at her as he blocked a blow from an enemy's word with his guns, wielding them like tonfas. Kuranosuke and Ayako had teamed up to fight a particularly large cluster of enemy soldiers, since they each faced a slight disadvantage with their weapons.

"My weapon is done for, it's do or die!" Ayako said as she flipped the blade around, struck the soldier on his shoulder with the back of the sword's blade, and shattered his shoulder protector.

"Wha…_!_?" The soldier said, stunned. While he was distracted, Ayako 'pistol-whipped' the soldier with the sword's sheathe, knocking him out.

'That girl…_!_? I thought she didn't know how to use a katana… and what's up with that weird fighting style_!_?' Kuranosuke thought. "!" He said when he realized an enemy soldier had snuck up on him. "Tch!" Kuranosuke said, as he spun around to face the man.

"Move it!" Kasane yelled as she came flying out of nowhere.

WHAM!

Kasane slammed the hoe down hard, into the armored soldiers gut. The force of her attack sent the man to the ground as he grunted in pain.

"Wha—What_!_? It's you_!_?" Kuranosuke shouted in disbelief. "What are you doing_!_? Hey!" Another soldier ran at Kasane and tried to attack her, but Kasane blocked the attack with the hoe, and thrust the flat metal head of the hoe into the soldier's chest plate, the force of her attack reached him all the way through the armor, and he crumpled to the ground.

'This feeling…!' Kasane thought as she stared at her hand. This was it... She wasn't afraid anymore.

"Kasane…!" Ayako yelled when she saw the girl. She took out another enemy, and turned to face them. "Where's Gorouza?"

"He's alright! He's taking care of another part of the village." Kasane said.

"Ah! So, you planning to have us in your debt and get on our master's good side_!_? What country sent you to spy on us_!_?" Kuranosuke shouted. Ayako smacked him up the backside of his head.

"Geez! You're so rude, you know that?" Ayako said in annoyance. "At times like this, you're supposed to say 'thank you,' not 'screw you!'" She scolded him.

"That's not it!" Kasane said, holding her hand out in 'stop right there' motion. "That's not it, but…"

"Duck, Kasane!" Ayako yelled when a soldier popped up behind Kasane and swung his sword at her.

"Wha…_!_?" Kasane said as she quickly ducked, just barely managing not to get hit.

"Uh…" The soldier moaned before falling to the ground. In that split second, both Ayako and Kasane had struck him simultaneously, from both sides, with the hoe and the back of the sword's blade. Ayako saw that Inuchiyo and Gorouza were approaching them.

"…Yeah." Kasane said resolutely, clenching her fist. "Yeah!"

"…" Inuchiyo and Gorouza said as they glanced at each other, wondering what had happened. Ayako smiled.

'Looks like she isn't lost anymore… Kasane's finally figured out which path she wants to take, huh?' Ayako thought, relieved that the other girl had recovered her spunk. They let Kasane have the honor of taking out the last soldier.

"Ow!" The soldier yelled as he landed harshly on the ground.

"All your allies have fallen. If you don't want to get captured, you'd better get out of here now." Kasane said boldly. As they all stared down at him.

"… Heh… hehe… Aren't you the ones who should be running?" The enemy soldier said, laughing. "We were hired to scout ahead of the main army. The main Kiyosu army is 1,500 strong, and headed straight here!"

"Fi-Fifteen-hundred_!_?" Kuranosuke shouted, stunned. The soldier continued to laugh at them.

"Haha! Run for it! Run! The Fool's soldiers don't even know that their enemy is on the move! We're no enemies of Kiyosu!" The soldier shouted, laughing mockingly at them, as the villagers all panicked and ran for their lives when they heard what he had said.

"This day just gets better and better, doesn't it?" Ayako deadpanned.

"Reinforcements from our lord won't make it in time! Kasane! We have to retreat." Gorouza yelled, but Kasane remained where she was, refusing to budge.

"!" Kuranosuke said. "You… what's that aura…? Don't tell me… you're planning to take on all 1,500 of them_!_?" He yelled As Kasane stared at the huge line of soldiers that was now marching towards them from off in the distance. An aura of calm had settled about Kasane… like the calm before a storm. "Gah! Hey, why are you just standing there_!_?" Kuranosuke yelled. "Let's get out of here, you stupid girl!"

"Kasane, the villagers are all gone now, there's no reason to stay here. We need to leave, now. He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day." Ayako said calmly and placed her hand over Kasane's, which were still tightly gripping the hoe. Kasane, flinched slightly, snapping out of her trance.

"Ayako…" Kasane said.

CAW—!

They heard Tenrou's cry as he soared through the sky above them. Ayako noticed that her ribbon was no longer tied to his leg. She smirked.

"Here they come." Ayako said, smirking like the Cheshire cat. 'So, this was your plan, Nobunaga… ' She thought, finally realizing the full extent of Nobunaga's plan and the reason behind his earlier actions.

"Tenrou_!_?" Gorouza shouted in surprise. He was surprised to see Tenrou again so soon, since Tenrou usually stayed close to Nobunaga when he wasn't being used to relay information.

"Wh-What is this_!_?" The soldier yelled in alarm when the Kiyosu army got closer, and they could see what was really happening.

"The Kiyosu army… is being driven forward…_!_?" Kasane said, stunned and amazed. As they watched the remnants of the Kiyosu army desperately try to outrun Nobunaga's soldiers that were bearing the crest of the Oda clan.

"This is ridiculous! Whose army is that_!_? Nobunaga shouldn't know a thing!" The enemy soldier yelled in alarm. "Ghg!" He grunted in pain when Inuchiyo brought his foot down upon the man's head.

"That's my lord's army! It's not ridiculous!" Inuchiyo said as he grinded his foot against the soldiers head.

"But… How did he get here so fast_!_? He just got word." Kasane said.

"Maybe… our lord knew everything, and was waiting… for the Kiyosu army to make the first move…!" Gorouza said. Ayako laughed wryly.

"Heh, what maybe? That guy definitely knew." Ayako said. "He probably sent us ahead, knowing that we would send Tenrou back to warn him if we ran into to trouble. It was all within his calculations…"

"Don't let any of them escape back to their castle. Capture a group of them and take them with us." Nobunaga ordered. "I'll speak with them."

"Yes, Sir!" His soldiers replied and proceeded to carry out their lord's orders.

"Don't bother comparing my personal army to you blockheads from Kiyosu. _Idiots_." Nobunaga said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{After the battle, when Nobunaga emerged victorious, once again…}

"… But why?" Gorouza asked Nobunaga as they rode their horses back to Nagoya. They had already swept the area and made sure there were no more enemy soldiers lurking around. The villagers were relieved that they had been saved, and were already getting started on dealing with the aftermath of the attack and rebuilding their homes. "If you knew Kiyosu was moving, why didn't you send the army out in advance?" Gorouza asked.

"If I make a poor move, the people will loose faith in me." Nobunaga said. "Each group that has invaded my territory came from the Kiyosu area. I don't intend to just let them take what they please. So, I sent you guys ahead as my front line, and waited for my opportunity."

"So, it was just as Ayako said earlier, and what went on at the castle was all an act?" Gorouza said.

"Hmph, so you managed to figure it out, after all, huh." Nobunaga said, smirking slightly at Ayako as Tenrou came to perch on his shoulder. A vein mark popped on her forehead, and her eye twitched slightly as she gave him a brilliant shit-eating grin.

"Yes, but it would've been so much _easier_ if you had just told me what that note said in the first place." Ayako said. "I'm assuming this is what that note was all about, right?"

"Note?" Gorouza asked.

"It was Ikeda Katsusaburou here who informed me Kiyosu was on the move. He used Tenrou as a messenger." Nobunaga explained.

"I was up all night because of it." Ikeda said. He was wearing a dark piece of cloth wrapped around his head, like a bandana. He looked older than all of them, like he was in his mid-twenties, but Ikeda was actually around their age.

"Thanks for the hard work." Ayako said sympathetically. Nobunaga really knew how to use people.

"Then, him giving us that order… My lord wasn't mad at me!" Inuchiyo said happily, like an excited puppy that had just been given a treat.

"Thank God! My road to glory is still intact!" Kuranosuke said, crying tears of happiness and clenching his fist.

"Our enemies aren't limited to those outside the castle walls. It could be serious if my actions created a chance for them to attack." Nobunaga said, continuing his explanation. "Even though they're my vassals, I can't let my guard down around any of them."

"My Lord…" Gorouza said sadly, not sure what to say to comfort the young ruler. Having to isolate yourself from everyone around you must be very hard and lonely...

'Is that why he has so much fun harassing me…? Because he knows he can trust me, since I have zero ambition towards gaining any kind of fame or status in this era…?' Ayako wondered. She had already figured that just because Nobunaga was a powerful lord, didn't mean that he was free to do whatever he wanted to. No, it was especially because he was a lord that he couldn't. History was riddled with rulers who had been betrayed, and it was usually by people close to them, like family members or underlings who wanted power.

SPLASH!

They all looked over at the river to see Kasane pop up from beneath the surface of the water, totally drenched… She had jumped into the river all by herself.

'That actually looks kind of nice… maybe I should jump in too. I feel like I'm covered in dirt and sweat.' Ayako thought.

"My Lord! I–I was cast into the river as promised! So, please, forgive those four!" Kasane yelled determinedly. 'The inside of my shoes feels gross! Eww—!' Kasane thought, shuddering slightly from the slimy feel of the gunk on the bottom of the riverbed she was standing in.

"K–Kasane_!_? I thought you were gone…" Gorouza said, surprised. "That issue has already been—"

"And I have a favor to ask you." Kasane said to Nobunaga. Ayako raised and eyebrow. Well, this should be good. "I'd like… you to let me serve as a soldier." Kasane said as she stared up determinedly at Nobunaga, and he stared down at her from where he was sitting atop his horse. Ayako smiled.

"Ohh!" Inuchiyo said excitedly.

"I knew it!" Kuranosuke said.

"You fool! For a woman to say such a thing!" One of the soldiers yelled. Ayako raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't seem to have a problem with her.

'Do I not count as a woman anymore, or something…?' Ayako wondered, feeling slightly chagrined.

Nobunaga held out a hand to silence the soldier.

"You mean to say you will become a citizen of this province?" Nobunaga asked Kasane, just as he had done with Ayako.

"I won't." Kasane said bluntly. "But I won't just be afraid and live on your mercy. I have to find a way to keep on going and return to my brothers. And so I don't lose sight of that goal, and to live in this world—I'll fight! 'What are you going to do now?' This… is my answer to the question you asked me back in the castle." Kasane said, determined, as Nobunaga stared at her. Ayako stared at her, blinking, slightly stunned at how similar their answers had been. She smiled. Ayako had a feeling that the two of them would get along really well with each other. "But…" Kasane said, not entirely finished speaking yet.

_GRUMBLE—!_

Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke flinched in shock as Kasane's stomach growled _really_ loudly.

"Man, and I was looking so cool there…" Kasane mumbled dejectedly as she slumped against a nearby tree.

"Hmph. Your attitude has gotten a lot more 'useful' than this morning." Nobunaga said. It amused him slightly that her answer had been so similar to Ayako's. He wondered if all women were like this in the future.

"Eh?" Kasane said, not sure what he meant by that.

"If that isn't the case, then go back to your old world." Nobunaga said, tossing Kasane a small package that was wrapped in bamboo leaves.

"_Eh!_? You believe me_!_? And how do you know about it_!_?" Kasane asked, shocked at how easy it had been to convince him. Nobunaga smirked wickedly at her.

"I'll believe anything you want if it brings me power." Nobunaga said.

'Eh? So, which is it?' Kasane thought, sweat dropping.

"… As I stand now, I don't have anything I can use freely." Nobunaga said. "The old soldiers hate me. They're using the chaos of my father's death to betray me, one by one. I'm only gathering up things I need. First Narumi, and now Kiyosu. I must be prepared for Imagawa, Saitou, and Rokkaku to move. The situation means war. It will be too late if I just wait for the things I've gathered to become useful."

"So, that's why you were so reckless back then… with hitting Gorouza and the others…" Kasane said, feeling a little bad for assuming the worst about him, without knowing the whole story.

"I won't choose people… who don't follow me. I only believe in what I see with my own eyes." Nobunaga said. "This 'mish–mash' of people works well. It's a 'family,' and I'm part of it." Ayako smiled warmly, and the three guys blushed slightly, suddenly feeling a little bashful at hearing such high praise, as being considered 'family' by their lord. "Return to Nagoya!" Nobunaga ordered and started on the journey back to his castle in Nagoya.

"Yes, Sir!" The soldiers shouted as they followed their lord.

"A 'family'… huh." Kasane said, smiling softly at the thought. She glanced down at the small package Nobunaga had given her. 'That's right, what is this…?' Kasane wondered as she unwrapped. Kasane smiled when she saw what had been wrapped in the bamboo leaves, it was two beautiful, white rice balls. 'Masamune, Kotetsu… You're sister isn't going to lose.' She thought, determined to survive and return to her own family soon.

"Hey let me have some too!" Inuchiyo said.

"Quit it, will you." Kuranosuke said. "She sure did perk up quickly…"

"Indeed. I wonder just how far she'll fall into our lord's hands." Gorouza said, smiling.

"By the way, what happened to my hair ribbon…? I'd really like it back, since it's important to me." Ayako asked as she pulled her horse up alongside Nobunaga's.

"…" Nobunaga said. He led the ribbon out to her. It had somehow gotten splashed with blood during the battle, and her once white ribbon, was now blood red.

"…" Ayako said as she stared at it, turning blue with shock, at the sight of her bloodstained ribbon.

"I'll dispose of this one and get you a new one in return—" Nobunaga said when he saw the appalled look on her face, thinking she wouldn't want to keep the bloody ribbon.

"No!" Ayako said quickly, and snatched the ribbon from his hand. "My mother gave me this ribbon! It's one of the only things I have left to remember her by!" Ayako tucked the bloody ribbon into her kimono. "It's just a little blood… I might not be able to completely remove the stain, but I refuse to throw it away."

"Hmph, that so? Most people would be afraid of being cursed by the person that blood belongs to." Nobunaga said, trying to get a rise out of her. Ayako narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're just trying to scare me. What happened to 'I only believe in what I see with my own eyes?' Nice try, but I won't fall for it, besides, why would he curse me? I wasn't even there when he died." Ayako said.

"—My Lord." Ikeda said as he pulled his horse up on Nobunaga's other side.

"… Is there something you want to say?" Nobunaga said.

"I spoke with the general we took prisoner. It seems that he saw some young women at his castle who later disappeared." Ikeda said.

"Women?" Nobunaga asked.

"Ah! Could they have—" Ayako said, but was cut off when they heard a ruckus start up behind them.

"Ah, you ate it all!" They heard Inuchiyo yell from behind them.

"Eh? Sorry!" Kasane said nervously.

"Quit it, you two!" Kuranosuke said.

"Is that girl… going to be alright?" Ikeda asked.

"…" Nobunaga said. "Let's walk further ahead of them."

"Should I fall back with them?" Ayako asked.

"No. Continue what you were saying before." Nobunaga said.

"Oh, okay… well, I just thought that maybe they're the ones who trampled the flowers." Ayako said.

"Yes, I came to that same conclusion." Nobunaga said.

"Flowers?" Ikeda asked.

"Someone trampled the flowers in the garden at my castle, though Nobuyuki and Ayako fixed it." Nobunaga said. "I've decided to feign ignorance... and force the rats to reveal their true nature."

"I wonder if they're kunoichi… That would be kind of cool, but if they are, they must not be very good at it… or maybe they're just too cocky and underestimating us." Ayako said, thinking out loud.

"… What makes you say that?" Ikeda asked, curious. Ayako was strange, but she seemed to have good intuition.

"Well, we knew they were there, didn't we? Aren't ninjas supposed to be stealthy? If they had avoided the flowers, then we probably wouldn't have figured out that they were there this fast… not that I'm complaining." Ayako said.

"I suppose that's true…" Ikeda said. Ayako realized he was staring at her.

"… What? Did I say something strange again?" Ayako asked.

"No, I've just been wondering why you didn't read the letter when you intercepted Tenrou. Instead, you brought it directly to the lord without even opening it." Ikeda said. Ayako tilted her head in confusion.

"'Why?' you ask… isn't it obvious?" Ayako said, raising an eyebrow. "It's just plain rude to read someone else's mail without their permission." Ikeda stared at her, slightly stunned. That wouldn't have stopped most of the people at the castle. Whether their intentions were good or bad, they would've read the note once it was in their hands, before determining if they should immediately tell the lord.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said, laughing. "Foreigners say some interesting things, eh, Ikeda." Nobunaga's expression became more serious. "Whatever the case, I doubt this recent attack was an honest attempt on my territory. They were feeling me out. There will likely be another raid soon. Convey that to both the Matsuba and Fukada castles." Nobunaga ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Ikeda said.

"It takes some nerve to invade Owari." Nobunaga said, furrowing his brow.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Man~!" A headband wearing kunoichi said as she spied on Nobunaga's personal army from above, in a tree, with her two teammates. Their faces were half hidden by cloth facemasks "There goes Nobunaga! Those guys from Kiyosu were totally useless! We've got to rebuild from scratch again!"

"It doesn't matter. Today was only a trial run. Next time we'll go for real." Another kunoichi said. It was the same woman that had been spying on the farmers in Nagoya. She had long, straight, dark hair.

"But that is one interesting army. There's even two weird girls in it. Have you ever seen hair like that before?" Headband kunoichi said, referring to Ayako's curly dirty-blonde hair.

"This isn't the time to fool around, Iname." The long-haired kunoichi said.

"Yeah, yeah." Headband, Iname, said. "The boss sure is strict." She teased.

'The army withdrew quickly, without letting the chase go too far.' Long-haired kunoichi, the boss, thought. '… And they march quickly. There's also a good chance they've already noticed us. The successor of Owari isn't the fool he's rumored to be… is he?' "Kazusanosuke Nobunaga… Shall we show our little obstruction the exit door?" She said.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I'm leaving to go on a quick vacation, and then school starts again for me on wed. so I don't know how frequently I'll be able to update... Sorry! ^_^;


	10. Coming Clean

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>[Kasane's third day in the Sengoku era... also Ayako's tenth day there...]<p>

{Owari, Nagoya Castle}

"Phew!" Ayako said as she stood up and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Ayako had been up since the crack of dawn, cleaning. She only had one place left to do, and then she would finally be done. It was still early in the morning, but Ayako was ready for quitting time, so she could take a bath and see what the others were up to.

"Whoa!" Ayako and Kasane said as they simultaneously bumped into each other while trying to turn the corner on the wooden porch.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Kasane said as she helped Ayako up.

"No, no, it's not your fault. I should've paid more attention to where I was going." Ayako said. "I'm glad I bumped into you, though. I've been meaning to have a talk with you about something." Ayako said as she picked up the cleaning supplies she had dropped.

"Eh? About what?" Kasane asked nervously, wondering if she was in trouble.

"Oh, don't worry! You're not in trouble!" Ayako said quickly when she sensed Kasane's distress. "Remember how I said that I believed you were from another era…?" Ayako asked.

"Yes…" Kasane said, wondering why she was bringing it up now.

"Well, actually… there's a very good reason why I believe you… I'm actually from the future too… I'm sorry I didn't say anything before, but Nobunaga told me not to until we knew what you were going to do, and I didn't want to say anything in front of the others because Nobunaga is the only one who knows the truth." Ayako said, bowing in apology. Kasane stared at Ayako, stunned.

"Eeeeeh_!_?" Kasane yelled in surprise. "Really_!_? … But why didn't you tell the others too?" Ayako rubbed the back of her neck, feeling guilty for lying to all of her new friends.

"Well… you saw how people tend to react to that kind of statement… I didn't want anyone to think I was crazy, so I just told them I 'wasn't from around here' and left it at that. Nobunaga knows because he was there when I appeared… You didn't happen to see a flash of blue light before you ended up here, did you?" Ayako said.

"You saw it too…_!_? " Kasane said, surprised. "I woke up here after pushing my little brother, Kotetsu, out of the way of a truck! He was holding a weird katana that had a round, blue crystal charm tied to it. I grabbed the sword handle in the confusion, and then I was suddenly surrounded by a blindingly bright blue light!"

"A blue charm_!_? That's like what happened to me! I was cleaning out a storehouse at my uncle's temple, when I knocked over some shelves. As they were falling on me, a strange bamboo walking stick, that had a round, blue crystal charm tied to it, fell into my hands, and I was surrounded by a bright blue light before ending up here!" Ayako said. "I bet it has something to do with those weird charms! I'll show mine to you later, and we can compare them!"

"Yeah! Oh, but I lost the katana that I came here with… I don't now what happened to it after I was captured by those soldiers at Narumi…" Kasane said, deflating slightly.

"Oh… well, maybe one charm will work for both of us… once we figure out what to do, so that we can go back to the future… but we can ask the lord if a sword like that was found, and taken as loot by one of the soldiers or something." Ayako said. Kasane nodded in agreement.

"Okay!" Kasane said, relieved to know she wasn't in this alone anymore. "… Wait, did you say your uncle had a temple, Ayako-chan?"

"…Yes?" Ayako said, wondering why that was significant.

"You wouldn't happen to be the niece of that cranky priest at Saionji temple, would you…?" Kasane asked. Ayako's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"…Yeah, how did you know?" Ayako asked.

"It was on the news, you're uncle's been looking for you, ever since you disappeared about a week ago." Kasane said. Ayako smiled wryly, and a little sadly as she thought about how worried her uncle must be. She missed the cranky priest.

"I guess I shouldn't keep him waiting, then." Ayako said, putting on a brave face. "I don't know how long it'll take us to figure something out, but we'll definitely get back to them, Kasane, both your brothers and my uncle."

"Yeah, no matter what happens, we'll survive this era!" Kasane said. The two girls grinned at each other and locked arms as a sign of their friendship.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.

"Oh? What's that sound?" Inuchiyo wondered as he walked around the castle. It was Kasane. She was 'sprint scrubbing' the porch by running while holding a wet rag. After finding out that Ayako was cleaning, Kasane had asked to finish the job for Ayako, since she thought it would be a good way to pay them back for everything they had done for her. Ayako decided not to tell Kasane that she was really only cleaning about one percent of the actual castle, since Kasane looked so happy, and she had already cleaned the rest of it anyway.

"Wow—!" Inuchiyo and Gorouza said in amazement when they and Kuranosuke saw the now clean and sparkling building. Ayako had been cleaning the different buildings in the castle over the last few days she was here, and this was one of the buildings on her list. This was where Nobunaga stayed and held his most important meetings. He wouldn't have trusted just anyone to clean this place… and he didn't, hence, the shock at seeing the place so clean.

"Amazing~! It's all shiny!" Inuchiyo said as he ran down the clean porch.

"Don't run on the walkway!" Kuranosuke scolded him, vein mark throbbing on his head.

"Wow… did you do all this yourself, Kasane?"

"Ah! Gorouza, good morning." Kasane said cheerfully. "Every morning I used to clean up Grandpa's dojo, and it was part of club activities. I've gotten good at it! It's also great for training up your legs. Kasane wrung the wet rag out as she talked.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. My calves used to be so soft and feminine before I started cleaning the temple like this everyday… now my calves are all muscle." Ayako said, wrinkling her nose.

"O… kay…?" Gorouza said. 'Club activities?' He thought, wondering what it was. "Well, the lord will be happy. He likes things tidy. Right, Kuranosuke?" Gorouza said, smiling.

'Yeah, that's because it makes it easier to tell if someone's been trespassing…' Ayako thought.

"Yeah, you'll earn lots of points, meh." Kuranosuke said, reluctantly praising Kasane.

'He's the same as always.' Kasane thought, sweat dropping. "It's to make up for you four and the lord saving me." Kasane said, smiling as she shook the rag out. "This much I can do." They didn't realize it, but Nobunaga had just walked up behind them, accompanied by one of his cats, and was now glancing around, inspecting Kasane's handiwork. "So, I thought I'd give it a go…" Kasane trailed off when they realized who was behind them. Nobunaga frowned as he stared up at the ceiling.

"!_!_" Kasane said as she flinched, shocked, at finding the very subject of their conversation right behind them. 'When did he get here_!_?' Kasane thought, going rigid in her nervous state.

"My Lord, good morning." Gorouza said pleasantly.

"Good morning." Ayako said, smiling. She had done an exceptional job cleaning the inside of the building, so Nobunaga shouldn't have any complaints. He was just as picky and strict as her uncle had been, when it came to cleaning.

"I hear the lord's foot steps!" Inuchiyo said excitedly as he ran over, like a puppy greeting his master. Nobunaga glanced at Kasane, and noticed that she was the one holding the cleaning rag, and he had heard the tail end of the conversation, so he knew that Kasane was the one who had done the cleaning outside. He would've scolded Ayako for not doing her work if he hadn't already inspected the cleaning that she had done on the inside. Every nook and cranny was now sparkling and completely spotless, from the floor to the ceiling.

'This guy's Nobunaga…' Kasane thought in amazement. He looked much better in person than he did in any of the historical paintings she had seen of him before. "Yes. I did." Kasane said. They watched in silence as Nobunaga stared at the ceiling again.

"…" Kasane said, not sure what was so fascinating. 'What is he doing?' She wondered.

"The ceiling." Nobunaga said.

"Eh?" Kasane said, confused. Ayako glanced at the ceiling.

"!" Ayako said when she saw the not so shiny ceiling. She usually cleaned _everything_, including the ceiling, so Nobunaga probably expected everybody to do it now… She had forgotten to warn Kasane.

"Why didn't you wipe the ceiling too?" Nobunaga demanded, giving Kasane a sharp look. Kasane and Ayako both sweat dropped.

"Isn't it obvious…? You don't usually do that as well… and I can't reach." Kasane said, sweat dropping. Nobunaga snapped. He frowned, and his eyes were veiled in shadow as he suddenly emitted a threatening aura.

"Eek!" Kasane said, flinching at the sudden burst of hostility.

"C-Calm down, it's just the ceiling, and people really _don't_ usually clean it." Ayako said quickly. The longer Nobunaga stayed annoyed, the harder it was going to be on Kasane.

"I—I'll do it, I'll do it!" Kasane said. "Just let me borrow a stool!" 'H–He's worse than the captain…' Kasane thought.

"Your usual bed and meals, plus two rice balls." Nobunaga said. Once it had been established that Kasane was 'one of the guys' now, it had been arranged for Kasane to share Ayako's room with her… which was actually only a three-tatami-mat room, so it was more like a small closet, especially compared to most of the other rooms in the castle, but the two girls didn't really mind.

"… Eh?" Kasane asked.

"For what you've done. It's only natural to _repay you for what you've done."_ Nobunaga said, referencing the conversation he had walked in on. "Afterwards, help cook, draw water, do dishes, cut wood, do errands, and maintain the garden." Nobunaga said.

"Gah!" Kasane said, going blue with shock at the huge workload Nobunaga had just dumped on her. Ayako sighed. She knew he wasn't done yet, because Nobunaga was probably giving Kasane the same chores she had.

"See to the horses, repair the mansion, and patrol the grounds. Do all the little things like that." Nobunaga ordered, finally done listing her chores. "No complaining. Ayako does these things everyday without any whining. The only thing I want to hear from you is 'duty completed!', and also…"  
>'What, there's more<em>!<em>?' Kasane thought.

"When you do something, do it right! If you do a shoddy job, I'll kick you out without hesitation! When you're done with that, bring some food over. And redo the walkway." Nobunaga said mercilessly as he stalked away. Kasane turned to see what he was talking about when he told her to re-clean the walkway. Her jaw dropped. Inuchiyo and Kurochiyo were running on it, and they had left muddy footprints and paw prints behind. Kasane seemed to physically wilt, and she stared at the floor. It seemed she was unable to speak after being caught up in hurricane Nobunaga. Ayako patted her sympathetically on the back. Gorouza looked worried, but wasn't sure what to say.

"Is she dead…?" Kuranosuke wondered out loud.

"Gorouza… Ayako…" Kasane said weakly. "I'll survive… for starters, could you lend me a stool…?" She was starting to enter into her own little corner of woe.

"Ah! Kuranosuke! You can act like a stool and hold her up." Gorouza said quickly, concerned when he saw how gloomy Kasane was feeling.

"Y-Yes, Sir!" Kuranosuke said automatically, snapping to attention. "… Wait, why me_!_? And come to think of it, how does Ayako usually reach the ceilings, anyway? She's such a midget…"

"It's alright, Kasane. You won't be doing everything by yourself. I usually do all of this, and the guys do a lot of the chores too." Ayako said.

"So, he considers soldiers servants…?" Kasane asked.

"Well, I don't know about that, but it makes sense to me. I mean, modern soldiers do stuff like clean their own latrines and barracks, cooking, and other miscellaneous duties around military bases, don't they? It helps with discipline. I don't think this is much different." Ayako said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{One very shiny ceiling and several other chores later…}

"That lord of ours… has he always been like that?" Kasane asked as they cooked lunch. The water bubbled as they brought it to a boil to cook the rice in.

"Lord Nobunaga? I haven't known him very long, so I can't really say…" Ayako said honestly as she chopped up some leeks.

"Well, he has been as long as I've known him." Gorouza said, smiling as he peeled a daikon radish.

"I wonder if we can be friends, with him like that. Right now, I just can't tell what he's thinking…" Kasane said, sweat dropping as she watched Inuchiyo trying to wash Kurochiyo, and Kuranosuke scolding him for bringing an animal into the kitchen while it was dirty.

"He might be hard to understand sometimes, and he has a pretty devilish smirk, but he's a good guy, really." Ayako said. "… Though, I think he enjoys messing with me a little too much. He thinks I'm his personal squeak toy or something." It hadn't taken long for Nobunaga to discover that Ayako was extremely ticklish… if only Kuranosuke hadn't poked her in the side when the young lord was passing by…

'_!_?' Gorouza thought. He knew Nobunaga had accepted Ayako, and that he was able to relax and feel comfortable around her, but he hadn't realized just how playful their lord had been with her. Nobunaga must have become really attached to Ayako. Ayako was such a mysterious girl, to gain the trust of their lord on such a level, in such a short amount of time. "Maybe if you try serving him, you'll find him rather easy to understand?" Gorouza suggested to Kasane.

"Ehhh_!_? How so_!_?" Kasane asked. "Oh, and your cooking is amazing!" Ayako was a lean, mean chopping machine, and Gorouza was still peeling the radish. It was one long, thin, unending peel. It took a lot of skill and control to peel a radish like that.

"It's a hobby of mine." Gorouza said, smiling.

"Yeah, I can never beat Gorouza at peeling, but I won't lose to anyone when it comes to flavor!" Ayako said cheerfully. Cooking was one of the few chores she had actually enjoyed growing up, and thanks to the temple's antiquated facilities, Ayako already knew how to cook with an old fashioned hearth… Although, truth be told, Ayako actually preferred to eat the bold, rich, and flavorful Louisianan cuisine she grew up with, to the more mild, but still delicious, Japanese cuisine.

"Wow!" Kasane said, but then she frowned slightly when she remembered her dilemma. "I was never any good at understanding feelings in the first place, but this is worse than usual…" Kasane said, blowing into a hollowed out bamboo shoot to fan the flames of the hearth.

"Wow~~!" They heard Nobuyuki say excitedly from the outside. Gorouza and Ayako turned to look when they heard the voice of their lord's younger brother.

"If people showed what they were thinking, I think I'd be happier. Have a happier life." Kasane said. "Wait… huh?" Kasane turned to look too when she realized that she had just heard someone do just that only a moment ago.

"The castle grounds are sparkling again today! Just as you'd expect from my brother." Nobuyuki said enthusiastically, smiling, and entering the usual 'hero worship' mode he went into whenever Nobunaga was involved.

"Ah, Lord Kanjuuro." Kuranosuke said, bowing politely.

"Lord Kanjuuro." Inuchiyo said, smiling as he held Kurochiyo.

"Oh, Kuranosuke, Inuchiyo." Nobuyuki said, smiling. "Is this more of Ayako's handiwork, or did you two do this?"

"Ugh. No, er, well…" Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping. He still didn't trust entirely trust Kasane.

"Who's that?" Kasane whispered as she, Gorouza, and Ayako, stuck their heads out to see what was up. Nobuyuki heard her, and turned to see who had spoken.

"Oh!" Nobuyuki shouted.

"Eh_!_?" Kasane yelled, surprised at Nobuyuki's sudden shout. "Don't surprise me!"

"With those strange clothes… could you be the 'weird girl' that Hayashi told me about?" Nobuyuki asked innocently, without any ill intentions.

"Eh_!_? Weird_!_?" Kasane said, shocked.

"Don't worry, Kasane, they said the same things about me, at first." Ayako said.

"Oh!" Nobuyuki said, realizing how he had sounded. "That was rude of me! I'm sorry!" Nobuyuki quickly bowed in apology.

"Oh, no, it's no big deal! I am weird!" Kasane said, not wanting him to feel bad.

"Uhh… my manners still aren't good enough!" Nobuyuki mumbled, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Lord Nobuyuki, you're still much better than our lord..." Ayako said. Nobunaga usually said stuff like that on purpose.

"What_!_? You're his brother_!_?" Kasane said, shocked that such a nice looking person could be related to such a devilish lord. "Wait, did Nobunaga have a brother_!_?" She whispered quietly to Ayako.

"Yep, several." Ayako whispered back.

"_Several!_?" Kasane whisper-yelled, shocked.

"I'm Oda Kanjuuro Nobuyuki. I'm two years younger than my brother." Nobuyuki said, smiling pleasantly, unaware of Kasane's inner turmoil.

"Wow~ You're not like him at all...! You seem like a nice guy! You're eyes don't look evil!" Kasane blurted out in shock.

"She says everything she thinks..." Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping.

"I think Kasane pretty much hit the nail on the head, though." Ayako said.

"Haha..." Nobuyuki laughed nervously and sweat dropped, not sure how to react.

"What can we do for you today?" Gorouza asked politely.

"Oh, no... I didn't really come here for anything. The times are hard for everyone now, regardless of the province. If you can think of a way to help out, even if it's small, please tell me." Nobuyuki said, smiling modestly.

"Wow! He's an amazing guy!" Kasane said with admiration.

"The lord's the amazing one!" Inuchiyo huffed.

'Yeah, Nobunaga really is amazing... even if he does have a habit of pissing people off.' Ayako thought.


	11. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_I'm Oda Kanjuuro Nobuyuki. I'm two years younger than my brother." Nobuyuki said, smiling pleasantly, unaware of Kasane's inner turmoil._

"_Wow~ You're not like him at all...! You seem like a nice guy! You're eyes don't look evil!" Kasane blurted out in shock._

"_She says everything she thinks..." Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping._

"_I think Kasane pretty much hit the nail on the head, though." Ayako said._

"_Haha..." Nobuyuki laughed nervously and sweat dropped, not sure how to react._

"_What can we do for you today?" Gorouza asked politely._

"_Oh, no... I didn't really come here for anything. The times are hard for everyone now, regardless of the province. If you can think of a way to help out, even if it's small, please tell me." Nobuyuki said, smiling modestly._

"_Wow! He's an amazing guy!" Kasane said with admiration._

"_The lord's the amazing one!" Inuchiyo huffed._

'_Yeah, Nobunaga really is amazing... even if he does has a habit of pissing people off.' Ayako thought._

* * *

><p>"By the way..." Nobuyuki said. "Am I... really nothing like him at all?" Nobuyuki asked, depressed.<p>

"Huh?" Kasane asked, confused about his sudden mood change.

"Even though my brother and I have the same mother, ever since I was born, I could never do anything as well as him. I'd be able to have a little confidence in myself if we at least looked alike too...!" Nobuyuki said gloomily as he entered his own little corner of woe.

"Well, you both have your good points..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. They were definitely brothers. They both had a knack for being unintentionally dramatic.

"No, I actually think not resembling him is the better option..." Kasane said. She thought Nobuyuki was a much nicer person than Nobunaga. "Ah, that's right. Then, would you like to eat with us all? We just prepared it." Kasane said, smiling brightly. Nobuyuki shook his head vigorously, suddenly switching to being shy.

"Eating with him is just too intimidating!" Nobuyuki said, flustered.

"Why? He's your brother." Ayako said. She was an only child, but Hiroshi had taken it upon himself to become her 'big brother' when she had moved into the temple, so in away, she knew what it was like to have a sibling. She also thought it was weird for family members not to eat together, especially since Nobuyuki lived at Suemori Castle and not at Nagoya. like them. The two brothers weren't always able to see each other.

"My brother's only nineteen, but he's already the ruler of a province. Don't consider us siblings. I don't have that king of standing." Nobuyuki said humbly.

'... But you're family... why should any of that matter? Were just Nobunaga's soldiers/gophers, but he eats with us...' Ayako thought. She really didn't think Nobunaga would care about something like that. Kasane didn't look too convinced either.

"Besides... when I peeked in on him earlier, it looked like he'd been in conference with his vassals since morning. He's a busy man. I don't want him to carry any extra burden for my sake." Nobuyuki said.

'Well... that makes a little more sense...' Ayako thought, though she had said something similar to Hiroshi once. He had just laughed and told her 'it's the elder sibling's job to protect and spoil the younger ones' before beating up the kids that had bullied her. Isshin had wacked them both on the head with his harisen for that one. '...And Nobunaga probably came to check on us as an excuse to take a break from the meeting.' She thought.

'Busy...?' Kasane thought skeptically. 'If he's so busy, why did he come out here just to scold us like he did...?'

"Master!" They all heard someone yell. A man came running up to them. "Where's the lord_!_?" He yelled urgently.

"My brother is working right now. What is it?" Nobuyuki said, suddenly all business.

"Ah! L-Lord Nobuyuki!" The man said. "There's news—"

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

[After fast forwarding through one unnecessarily long explanation of what had happened...]

"The peasants are rebelling_!_?" Nobuyuki said, alarmed.

"It's the same place as the previous disturbance, but this time we can't control them." The man said.

"_!_?" Kasane said. "Another battle?"

"More of an uprising." Kuranosuke said.

"But if we don't handle this well, people will die." Ayako said, worried. Mobs were dangerous to not only their targets, but also themselves. If the mob panicked and ran, and someone fell, they could possibly trample some of their friends to death.

"!" Kasane gasped in alarm. "Hurry and let him know!"

"No, there is no need to go to the ruler of the province with a village dispute." Nobuyuki said.

"But—" Ayako said. She thought Nobunaga should know what was happening in his territory, and reasoning with a mob was no simple task.

"I'll take care of things in his place—" Nobuyuki said, but one of the sliding doors suddenly slammed open, revealing Nobunaga.

"Bring the horses around, my fools and Ayako." Nobunaga ordered. "We leave at once." Ayako smiled wryly. It was as though he had been waiting for that very moment to appear, but she was relieved to know that he was coming. Something about Nobuyuki acting in his stead just didn't sit right with her... She knew it was probably something she had heard or read in history class, but she just couldn't remember what... She just knew that it wasn't good.

"Yes, Sir!" Kuranosuke said as he, Gorouza, Inuchiyo, and Ayako left to get the horses.

"Ah! Brother!" Nobuyuki said, surprised.

"You, girl." Nobunaga said, addressing Kasane.

"Yes, Sir!" Kasane said nervously.

"Make some rice balls and follow us later with them." Nobunaga said, as he turned to leave. His haori swished as he pulled it on over his shoulders, like a cape.

"I'm coming too!" Nobuyuki said, wanting to stay beside his cool older brother.

"Eh_!_?" How am I supposed to follow him later_!_?" Kasane said, sweat dropping. She didn't even know where they were going.

"Ayako, stay behind and help her." Nobunaga ordered as the others returned with the horses. The other departed immediately, leaving Kasane and Ayako behind. The two girls quickly went to work, churning out rice balls at mach speed.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{At the location of the rebelling villagers...}

It was an honest to goodness _angry mob_. They had burning torches and everything. The roar of the mob was deafening.

"Get out here! Say something!" A few of the men shouted while they all angrily shook their farming tools in the air. Apparently, their leader was holed up in his small mansion, and had locked the entrance, barring the entrance from the angry mob.

"Wha..._!_? They're all farmers..._!_?" Kasane said, surprised. She had hitched a ride with Ayako on her horse. The boatload of rice balls they made had been bundled up and strapped onto Kasane's back.

"There's so many of them... I thought this village was less populated than this." Ayako said.

"They've probably gathered from the neighboring villages as well. I heard this area has been having especially poor harvests in recent years." Nobuyuki said. He looked a little nervous at the prospect of facing such a large and rowdy group of people.

"So, this problem isn't something that's only just recently happened... Maybe the land is becoming infertile from over farming?" Ayako said. Nobunaga glanced at her. He knew Ayako was sharp.

"Girl, you brought the rice balls?" Nobunaga said, addressing Kasane.

'He's talking about food now_!_?' Kasane thought incredulously. "Ayako and I made them all and brought them along!" She said.

"Good." Nobunaga said.

'Just what are you planning, Nobunaga...?' Ayako thought. Knowing Nobunaga, he hadn't ordered them to make those rice balls just so that they could go on a simple picnic.

BANG! BANG!

"Open up and come out here! You're our master, so come face us!" Some men yelled as they beat their fists on the doors of their master's home. "You're the one eating the rice we all grew! You coward!"

"How disrespectful!" The master grumbled as he hid behind the closed doors. "I—I already asked you, 'what more do you want me to do_!_?' You aren't the only ones suffering!" He yelled at them through the door.

"That bastard... Does he plan on deriding us till the end..._!_?" One of the farmers said angrily.

"We don't need a rotten master like you! Who cares! Just burn it all down!" The mob yelled as they roared angrily.

"P—Please wait!" Nobuyuki shouted nervously. "Everyone, please calm down! Nothing will be solved by using force! I'm Oda Kanjuuro Nobuyuki, master of Suemori Castle."

"Oda_!_? For real_!_?" The farmers whispered amongst themselves. They knew that was the family name of _the_ lord of Owari, so they figured Nobuyuki probably had a lot of political pull and wealth.

"Who will speak for you_!_?" Nobuyuki asked.

"... And what are you going to do?" One man asked as he stepped forward. He had a cross-shaped scar on his face, and he had been the one doing most of the shouting.

"I will take responsibility and negotiate with you. I understand that your suffering is so great, that you rose up in protest. I'll listen to what you want." Nobuyuki said. Ayako watched the mob as Nobuyuki spoke. They were all listening, but the expression on their faces said that they had heard similar promises before, and they obviously hadn't worked out to well, since they were back with a vengeance. "I don't know how much we'll be able to do, but we will also lend our power to—" Nobuyuki said, but he was cut off when the mob's leader interrupted him.

"We've had enough pretty speeches." The leader said, clenching his fist in frustration.

'Ah... I thought this might happen...'Ayako thought.

"Will your words ripen the rice stalks? Will they keep farmers from dying_!_? What we want are plentiful fields! Not your consolation!" The man yelled. Ayako glanced at Nobunaga, who was quietly and calmly observing the whole thing. "And what do you know about us, from way up there on your horses_!_?" Nobuyuki flinched guiltily. It was true. Someone who hadn't experienced any kind of serious hardship would never be able to fully understand the pain of someone who had. "We've had... enough!" The man shouted as he and the other farmers suddenly lunged at them. "We don't want to be killed by our province...!" Gorouza, Kuranosuke, Inuchiyo, and Ayako all jumped in front of Nobunaga and Nobuyuki, shielding the siblings as they blocked the attack. Ayako still didn't have a replacement for her hanbo yet, so she had hit the man coming at her with a 'flying back kick' and sent him flying into two of his buddies. That made them think twice about attacking her. They started whispering amongst themselves about her 'unnatural' strength for a woman, calling her a rasestu or a kitsune onna. Ayako sweat dropped. A woman shows a little strength, and suddenly she's a monster... Meanwhile, poor Kasane, who didn't have a weapon either, hadn't had such a fortunate outcome.

"Ah! Aah!" Kasane cried as she was pushed around by the mob. They weren't really attacking her, but being pushed around wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

"Tch! Idiots! Then don't aim your blades at its ruler!" Kuranosuke yelled.

"Killing us won't make your fields fertile!" Ayako shouted.

"That's right! Don't you know who's protecting you each and every day_!_?" Gorouza shouted.

"Who's protecting us_!_? Us peasants are the ones who die first on the battlefield!" The farmers yelled.

"Wait...! Wait a minute! Isn't there something wrong about people from the same province fighting each other..._!_?" Kasane yelled as she struggled against the mob.

"Shut up! Get out of here, girl! This has nothing to do with you!" Two men yelled as they shoved Kasane out of the way.

"Ahhh!" Kasane yelled in surprise as she fell backwards, landing on the ground behind the others. Ayako stepped in front of Kasane, just in case, to make sure no one tried to attack her again.

"Are you alright, Kasane?" Ayako asked.

"Wh-Wh-What should I do..." Kasane said nervously. She couldn't fight as well as Ayako could without a weapon, and things were going down hill fast. "Ah..." Kasane said when Nobunaga dismounted from his horse and stepped forward. He held out a hand and pushed Ayako behind him as he passed her. The young lord's haori swished dramatically as he held his sword out.

"Ah—" Ayako said, surprised, when Nobunaga forcibly took her place in facing the peasants. She had known he would intervene eventually, but he was exposing himself to danger by doing this. She reached out and grabbed his haori to stop him, but since it had only been draped over his shoulders, it slid right off as Nobunaga continued forward. "My Lor—"

"Brother! Don't go over there!" Nobuyuki yelled, worried for his brother's safety.

"H-Help us...!" An older village woman begged as she grabbed Kasane's arm. "I never thought the lord would come...!"

"After starting an uprising like this, there's no way we'll get out of it safe! At this rate, everyone will be... everyone will be killed...!" Another, younger woman said.

"Move it." Nobunaga commanded as he came up beside his three fools.

"My lord_!_?" Gorouza said, surprised. He was there to protect Nobunaga, but he had just Gorouza ordered to move and expose him to danger. Nobunaga drew his sword from it's sheathe.

"D—!" Kasane yelled in alarm as Nobunaga swung his sword at the mob leader's throat in one swift motion.

"—Don't!" Kasane and Ayako cried as they both tackled the mob leader to the ground, while Nobuyuki grabbed Nobunaga, and tried to hold him back, unsuccessfully. Nobunaga was a rock.

_FWISSSH!_

Everyone stared in amazement as they watched Nobunaga's sword fly up into the air. Before the other's had even reacted, Nobunaga had purposefully stopped his attack and threw his sword up into the air. He had never intended to kill the mob leader. Nobunaga just needed to show them who was boss. The sword twirled through the air, spinning as it came back down, and landed an inch away from the faces of Kasane, Ayako, and the mob leader. Nobunaga exhaled.

"Hey, girl. Food time." Nobunaga said brusquely.


	12. Paralyze Resistance With Persistance

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

_FWISSSH!_

_Everyone stared in amazement as they watched Nobunaga's sword fly up into the air. Before the others had even reacted, Nobunaga had purposefully stopped his attack and threw his sword up into the air. He had never intended to kill the mob leader. Nobunaga just needed to show them who was boss. The sword twirled through the air, spinning as it came back down, and landed an inch away from the faces of Kasane, Ayako, and the mob leader. Nobunaga exhaled._

"_Hey, girl. Food time." Nobunaga said brusquely._

* * *

><p>THUNK.<p>

The rice balls had been taken off of Kasane's back and laid out on the cloth, in front of Nobunaga, who began munching on them while sitting cross-legged on the ground. Kasane stared at him, dumbstruck.

'Why...? Why did he pick now to eat..._!_?' Kasane wondered, confused by Nobunaga's seemingly random behavior Ayako knew he was doing this for a reason, but she didn't know what it was. All the peasants stared blankly at Nobunaga, too stunned and confused to react.

"What is it? Why aren't you eating? There's enough for everyone." Nobunaga said carelessly, as though they hadn't been trying to attack him only moments before.

'I see... he used the rice balls as an excuse to create an awkward situation, in order to diffuse the tension, and now he's using them as a way to get them all to calmly sit down together in one place with him.' Ayako thought.

"W-We said we didn't want any consolation hand-outs!" The leader shouted, insulted, though it was obvious they were all starving.

"Hmph, are you idiots? Even if I am Nobunaga, I don't have the rice to spare on pity." Nobunaga said.

"Nobunaga_!_? You're him_!_?" They shouted, shocked that _the_ lord of Owari had shown up in person.

"Well, eat up or don't. Your choice." Nobunaga said nonchalantly. "If you don't come soon, they're going to be gone."

"Urk!" They said, flinching in surprise when they saw Inuchiyo gobbling up one rice ball after another, like a human garbage disposal. "..." The farmers said as they glanced at each other.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"It's not like we want to rise up like this." The leader said as they all sat down together and ate the rice balls. "But between the battles and the disease that comes with the yearly rains... the soil in our villages is bad, and we just can't produce enough rice. At this rate, the annual taxes will do us in...!"

"You're a lord, right_!_? Lower our taxes straight away for us!" One of the men said, turning to Nobuyuki. "That's the only way we'll be able to survive!"

"Wait, I understand how you feel, but that's only going to work as a temporary solution... the problem is the land, isn't it?" Ayako said, unable to keep herself from commenting.

"... I understand." Nobuyuki said, giving in to the man's demand. Ayako wanted to face-palm. Why didn't anyone ever listen to her?

"Really_!_?" The men asked, excited.

"I'll send out a formal notice in my name." Nobuyuki said.

"By how much_!_? Fifty percent_!_? Sixty_!_?" They shouted excitedly.

"No, going that far won't be..." Nobuyuki said, trying to figure out how to let them down gently.

"No." Nobunaga said boldly. Everyone froze and stared at him. Ayako sweat dropped. Nobunaga really wasn't one to mince words, was he.

"I completely reject your demand. I won't approve a tax cut." Nobunaga said.

"Why_!_? But you can do it right now—" They started to yell.

"I won't lower taxes." Nobunaga said firmly. "Instead, on each and every one of you, I will impose... extra taxes."

"!_!_" The leader gasped. "You can't...! Is our ruler... going to kill off the peasants who labor for this province..._!_?" The leader yelled, grabbing Nobunaga by the front of his kimono.

"It's a hopeless situation." Nobunaga said calmly. "So, take a leap and break away." Nobunaga gripped the man's wrist and removed his hand from his kimono. "I will give every last one of you new land. You can raise up fields there from scratch."

"You'll give us... land...?" The farmers asked, astonished.

"I have an estate not very far from here." Nobunaga said. "It's just wilderness, but it's more fertile than here. I will allow you to stay there for one year without any compensation. Those who move will have their debts forgiven, and will be exempt from taxes for the first year. However, the taxes for your second year will be larger than usual. After that, you'll return to the usual rate. You may do what you wish with any extra rice after taxes. Your problem is with 'this land.' Yelling about lowering taxes... that won't make your life better. But those who 'do' will get something in return, and I only want those who will rise to the challenge to come." Nobunaga smirked. "I'm going to make this the best province in Japan! You guys will farm until you feel like you're going to die and become the best peasants in Japan!"

"B..._!_?" The farmers said, surprised, glancing at each other.

"Hmph, best in Japan, is it?" The leader said. "Ahahaha! Sounds good! Sure, sign me up!" He said enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" The crowd cheered. "I'll get to eat my fill of rice! I'll get rice balls too!"

"Ahahaha! I can't believe there's a lord like this!" The leader said, amazed and impressed with Nobunaga. They all continued to cheer. Now, they were not only saved from the yearly taxes, but they had a plan for the future too.

"Is this okay, brother? To promise them land..." Nobuyuki asked.

"Don't worry, I talked it over with my chief retainer before we came." Nobunaga said.

"Ah! Were you doing that when I peeked in_!_?" Nobuyuki asked.

"A—Amazing...! He reasoned with a mob, just like that! This lord here... might just be an amazing guy...!" Kasane said, thinking outloud.

"Of course, I don't let just anyone boss me around, you know." Ayako said, grinning cheekily.

"He is kinda pushy, though..." Kasane said. She smiled and laughed. "Hehe, but I'm glad it worked out. The rice balls helped too.:

"Hey, _girl_. You're the worst cook ever." Nobunaga said bluntly. He crossed his arms and stared down at Kasane. "Next time you mess up, I'll kick you out!" The farmers laughed good-naturedly at poor Kasane.

"They were undercooked!" One man said, laughing.

"Good luck, Missy!" The leader said.

"Eh_!_? No way_!_?" Kasane yelled, blushing out of embarrassment and flinching in surprise. "Wait... why am I the only one getting yelled at_!_? Ayako made them too! ... And why are you telling me this in front of everyone_!_?"

"I've had Ayako's rice balls before. _They're delicious_. Only half of the rice balls were right, so the other half had to be yours." Nobunaga said.

"No... Maybe he's just strict... I don't really get him..." Kasane thought, crest fallen at her blunder with the rice balls. "Gorouza... will you teach me how to use the hearth? I don't think I understood Ayako's explanation..." Kasane said.

"I'll be glad to." Gorouza said, smiling kindly.

"Me too~! I'll help~!" Inuchiyo said eagerly, drool was already dripping down the corner of his mouth.

"You just want to eat it." Kuranosuke said.

"Sorry, Kasane... I forgot that you weren't used to cooking with the hearth yet." Ayako said, rubbing the back of her neck, and smiling apologetically. "I've been cooking with an old hearth like that ever since I moved in with my uncle, so..."

"Oh? So, the one responsible for these extraordinarily delicious rice balls, is that little Onihime?" The leader said, surprised. They were just plain rice balls, with no seasoning other than a little salt, but... they had never know rice balls could be so gourmet... it was amazing how she had managed to make something so simple with such a delicate and mouthwatering flavor.

Eh? Are you talking about me...?" Ayako asked, wondering why he had called her 'Onihime.' The leader laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry, sorry! We were just surprised by your strength earlier. You fight so well for a woman, not mention your strange hair and eye colors..." The leader said wryly. Ayako sweat dropped. She sometimes forgot how strange she must look to people who were used to only seeing people with dark hair and dark eyes.

"... 'Onihime,' huh?" Nobunaga said, smirking. "Hmph! I like it." Nobunaga said, clearly amused. Ayako sweat dropped again. She had a feeling that name was going to haunt her now.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Once all the details had been worked out between Nobunaga and the peasants, The crowd had dispersed. Everyone was eager to prepare for their new start. With that, Nobunaga and company had left to return home as well.

"Say... something you said earlier has been bothering me, Ayako." Kuranosuke said, his voice tinged with suspicion. "Some times... it sounds as though you know something about wherever Kasane's from." Ayako gulped guiltily, caught in her lie. She glanced at the others to see how they were reacting. They were all staring at her expectantly. Nobunaga suppressed a smirk. Ayako looked like a deer caught in the headlights... he wondered how she was going to handle the situation.

"... Remember how I said that I 'wasn't from around here'...?" Ayako asked nervously. She didn't want to lie to them anymore, but she was afraid they would be mad at her once they knew that she had. The three guys and Nobuyuki nodded. "Well, it wasn't exactly a lie... I come from the same place as Kasane. I thought that if I just came out and told the whole truth, everyone would think I was crazy... I'm sorry for not telling you sooner." Ayako said, bowing her head in apology.

"Ayako..." Gorouza said. He could understand where she was coming from, especially since that was how they had initially reacted when Kasane had told them she was from the future.

"So you're a spy too, then!" Kuranosuke shouted. A vein mark popped on Ayako's forehead.

"That again_!_? I might be weird, but I'm not a spy, okay_!_? Get over it!" Ayako yelled back, annoyed.

"Whatever is fine! Ayako is Ayako!" Inuchiyo said, smiling.

"Yes, no matter what, you're still our comrade." Gorouza said, smiling.

"You guys..." Ayako said, touched. "I'm so sorry for doubting you!"

"Isn't this great, Ayako? Now you don't have to hide it anymore." Kasane said, patting her on the back.

"... I don't really get what's going on, but... do your best." Nobuyuki said, confused, but touched by their display of friendship.

"Yeah!" Ayako said happily.

"You're awfully emotional, for an 'Onihime.'" Nobunaga said, smirking.

"They came up with that on their own!" Ayako huffed.

"But you're really strong, Ayako! Where did you learn to fight like that?" Kasane asked.

"Hmm? I don't think it's really all that impressive, but I learned how to fight barehanded from my dad. He'd always wanted a boy, but he got me. So, in exchange for letting me learn ballet, he made me promise to let him teach me how to fight." Ayako said. "He's the one who picked 'Louise' for my middle name, since my mom had already picked my first name. I've always thought it was kind of weird that my American, white mother named me something in Japanese, and my Japanese dad gave me a 'Western' name."

"That does seem like the opposite of what you'd normally think... why did they do that?" Kasane asked.

"Well, my mom named me Ayako because it means 'colorful child,' and both my hair and eyes are kind of multicolored instead of being one solid color, so she thought it would be a cute name for me. My dad wanted to name me Louise because it's French for 'famous warrior woman.' Despite how much he wanted a boy, he decided it would be better to give me a feminine name that had a tough meaning, rather than giving me a Japanese boy's name." Ayako explained.

"Wow... your parents sure did put a lot of effort into naming you! They must have really loved you, huh." Kasane said, smiling. Ayako smiled softly as she thought about her deceased her parents.

"Yeah." Ayako said, smiling fondly. "... But my old man was a Spartan trainer! He had absolutely no mercy, even though the opponent was his cute little daughter! He was almost as bad as my uncle! It must run in the family... with two violent siblings like that..." Ayako said indignantly.

"Um... What is this 'ballet' that you mentioned? Is it another fighting style?" Gorouza asked curiously. Ayako's mood did a complete 180° flip. You could practically see sparkles floating around her.

"You want to know? It's a type of European dance. It's kind of hard to explain, but it's known for its graceful and elegant style. It'll be easier to show you, than to explain it... so, I'll dance for you guys some time, though it's been a while, so I might be a little rusty!" Ayako said, smiling brightly. She was exuding such a girly and feminine aura at the moment, that the others could've sworn the atmosphere around her had turned pink, and there were flowers floating around her.

'Wow... this whole time, I thought Ayako was really tough, and kinda manly and cool, but she really is girly, deep down... She looks so cute when she smiles like that.' Kasane thought.

"... You know, when you smile like that, it makes you look even _younger_, like a little kid." Nobunaga deadpanned. The fluffy pink aura was instantly gone. A vein mark throbbed on Ayako's forehead.

"Shut up! You know I hate it when you make fun of my 'baby face!'" Ayako yelled. "I'm sixteen!"

"Eh_!_?" Kasane yelled, surprised. "You mean we're the same age_!_? I thought you were younger...!"

"Not you, too_!_?" Ayako cried in dismay. "I'm just short! I'm a high school freshman at Mimori High!"

"Mimori_!_?" Kasane shouted, shocked.

"Why do you have to sound so shocked_!_?" Ayako yelled, starting to feel frustrated.

"No, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just... Isn't Mimori a school that's really hard to get into_!_? Even people who have studied so hard, that their eyes bled, have been known to fail!" Kasane said, stunned.

"Huh? Is it really...? I answered all the questions in with plenty of time to spare." Ayako said. "It was easy. They even gave me a scholarship that covered the full tuition. That's the reason I chose to go there to begin with. Small temples aren't exactly rich." Kasane gaped at Ayako in shock.

"...Ayako-chan... Could it be... you're actually really smart...?" Kasane asked, blue with shock. She knew that Ayako wasn't an idiot, but to score so high on such an impossible test... it was a little scary.

"... Kasane... I like you, but are you _trying_ to make me mad?" Ayako asked. "For some weird reason, my middle school made us all take an IQ test, and they said I that have and IQ of 167." Kasane was so shocked—she froze, going completely rigid.

'_167!_? Isn't that way above average_!_? Like genius level_!_?' Kasane shouted in her mind.

"167...? What does that mean?" Kuranosuke asked.

"It just means that I'm a little smarter than average, that's all." Ayako said carelessly. She didn't think being smarter really mattered all that much. What was really important was what kind of person you were, not whether or not you were capable of solving a logic problem that only a small portion of the human population could. Nobunaga glanced at the frozen Kasane. He had a feeling it was more than just 'a little' from how overwhelmed the other girl appeared to be, but Nobunaga had already known that Ayako was no fool, though she occasionally acted like it...

"...Then, in that case... please let me call you 'Ayako-sama'!" Kasane suddenly yelled as snapped out of it, and she glomped Ayako.

"Gah_!_? What are you doing, Kasane...?" Ayako asked, startled and confused. "What's with this '-sama' business?" Kasane began petting Ayako's head.

"Oh, Ayako-sama, please let some of your intelligence rub off on me! I got a twenty on my last history test!" Kasane prayed, treating Ayako like she was some weird deity.

"Wha—_!_?" Ayako said, her cheeks flushing red from embarrassment. Ayako was actually pretty shy when it came to being praised and such over the top displays of affection.

"Stop, girl." Nobunaga ordered.

"Nobunaga..." Ayako said, relieved. She hadn't expected to be saved. He brought his horse beside them.

"You're going about it all wrong. It should be 'Onihime-sama.'" Nobunaga said as he pet Ayako's head. "Oh, Onihime-sama, please paint my enemies with the crimson color of blood." Ayako gaped at him in disbelief before flushing cherry red all over.

"Brother..." Nobuyuki said, sweat dropping.

"Y-Y-You... _Nobunaga, you idiot!"_ Ayako yelled, as she suddenly shot off ahead of them on her horse, leaving them all behind. They were all stunned, except for Nobunaga. He smirked, thoroughly amused by her reaction.

"Y-You... How dare you talk to the lord that way..._!_?" Kuranosuke sputtered. Gorouza sweat dropped.

"Who knew Ayako had such a sensitive side..." Gorouza said. She was normally such a tough little tomboy.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Onihime = demon princess.


	13. A Hunting We Will Go

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>The sound of hoof beats could be heard as three kunoichi hid in a tree and waited for their target to come into view. They were the three women from chapter nine, and they had found out from some unsuspecting locals that Nobunaga passed through this forest. The clueless farmers couldn't tell them whether it was for hunting or not, but they at least knew that the young lord of Owari didn't take a lot of attendants with him.<p>

"Yes~! He came, he came~!" Iname said excitedly as she spied on Nobunaga and company through her spyglass. "There's no mistake! It's Nobunaga! Today he's got four... no, five attendants. Hehe! Who should I knock out first? Which one looks strongest?" The longhaired boss sweat dropped.

"This isn't the time to be enjoying yourself, Iname." The boss said. "We're to crush Nobunaga on our lord's orders. Nobunaga is our only target! You fooling around will only be trouble."

"Yeah, yeah, I know already." Iname said, sighing. "Squad leaders do tend to be a high-strung bunch. You're going to lose your hair."

"_What!_? My hair is fine!" The boss whisper-yelled indignantly.

"And you flipped out when I took just one of your rice cakes. Stingy!" Iname deadpanned. A vein mark popped on the boss's head.

"I was looking forward to eating that! And you just do whatever you want!" The boss said, frustrated. Their third squad member, who had been silent so far, tugged on the boss's sleeve to het her attention.

"Nobunaga... is coming..." The quiet kunoichi said, pointing at the young lord and his posse, who were now directly below them.

"Heh, looks like I got here just in time." A fourth kunoichi said as she suddenly appeared next to the boss and joined them in the tree.

"... Kamiko." The boss said, greeting the new arrival. Kamiko wasn't an official member of their squad, but the boss had thought it would be best to call in some back up, just to be on the safe side, since Nobunaga wasn't the fool that they had been led to believe he was, and the number of attendants he kept close to him had increased. To be honest, she didn't particularly like Kamiko, since she could be a real sadist sometimes.

"About time you got here!" Iname said impatiently. "He said it didn't matter if we killed Nobunaga, right?" Iname asked the boss.

"Yeah." The boss said. 'Kazusanosuke Nobunaga, we'll be taking... you're head!' She thought.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Nah~ I got every last one!" Kasane said happily. She had been acting as Nobunaga's retriever and had been collecting the prey that Tenrou found. "Even though they smell a little like blood." Nobunaga had suddenly declared that they were going hunting that morning, and he had dragged whole gang along with him—despite Ayako's protests. She didn't want to go since she wasn't going to hunt, and she was still trying to find a cheap replacement weapon for her broken hanbo, since she didn't have much money... Actually, Ayako didn't have any money because she hadn't gotten her paycheck for becoming a soldier yet, but she didn't want to ask Nobunaga for a loan because there was no telling what kind of consequences it could have for her... he'd probably make her do something utterly annoying and ridiculous in exchange for the money.

'Well, at least Kasane is having fun...' Ayako thought, smiling wryly. Kasane glanced back at the others, who were behind her and Nobunaga. Kasane was hitching a ride with Gorouza this time, since she didn't know how to ride a horse by herself, and Ayako was riding with Nobunaga since he claimed the old horse that she had been riding was 'too loud and clumsy' and that it would scare away any possible prey. It also prevented her from 'getting lost' and returning back to the castle. She tried to argue, but as usual, Nobunaga won in the end.

"This is the first time I've seen a hunt... my ancestors really were sturdy folks..." Kasane said, thinking out loud.

"Well, everyone's gotta eat to live, but I just haven't ever been able to enjoy hunting, due to a past trauma... My dad took me deer hunting with his buddies one time when I was little, but he had horrible timing, because my mother had just let me watch _Bambi _the day before..." Ayako said, sighing.

"Eh..._!_?" Kasane said, shocked that her father would do such a thing. She had seen a Japanese dubbed version of the Disney movie once, so she knew what Ayako was taking about. "That's messed up!"

"Bambi?" Gorouza asked, curious.

"It's story about a cute little dear that makes kids fall in love with animals, and want to cherish them, but it's sad because Bambi's mother is killed by a hunter... just like the deer that they all shot in front of me. They didn't tell me what we were doing, so I thought we were just going hiking or something until the guns came out." Ayako said.

"It's just a stupid deer..." Kuranosuke said. Ayako glared at him.

"You've never seen _Bambi,_ and you're a guy, so you just wouldn't understand the trauma of seeing something cute and fuzzy, that you had come to consider a 'friend' get shot right in front of you." Ayako said darkly.

'She's definitely got a screw loose...' Kuranosuke thought, sweating nervously and avoiding her gaze.

"Tenrou really did a great job." Gorouza said, coming to Kuranosuke's rescue by drawing Ayako's attention away from him.

"I did a great job too! I got a rabbit." Inuchiyo said happily.

'Poor little Thumper...' Ayako thought.

"Wait until we get back to eat it." Gorouza said.

"We haven't gone falconeering in a while, too. Though we used to follow our lord around hunting and swimming a lot before." Kuranosuke said.

"Eh? Before? Kasane asked, curious.

'I haven't heard about this before, either...' Ayako thought. "I bet you guys caused all sorts of trouble, huh?" Ayako said, chuckling as she pictured little chibi versions of Nobunaga, Gorouza, Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke. They must've been so cute when they were younger.

"He was always on the move, you see. We had our work cut out just keeping up with him." Kuranosuke said.

"Kura was so slow!" Inuchiyo said, laughing. "He was always tripping over something!"

"Oh, is that true, Kura-kun?" Ayako asked slyly, teasing him.

"Shut up!" Kuranosuke yelled, embarrassed.

"I'll tell you about it sometime." Gorouza told the two girls.

"Great!" Kasane and Ayako said.

"But what about now? Aren't we just wandering around?" Kasane asked.

"You, idiot, now he's the ruler of a province. Do you think he can just wander around randomly like that?" Kuranosuke said rudely.

"..." Kasane said as they all stared at Nobunaga's back. Ayako and Kasane sweat dropped.

'No matter how you look at it, he's still just wandering around...' Ayako thought. She figured it probably had something to do with the mysterious women that had been stalking him and traveling to and from Kiyosu, though.

"W-Well, our lord is an exception." Kuranosuke said quickly, realizing he might've accidentally insulted Nobunaga. However, Nobunaga didn't really seem to care. He was acting as though he hadn't even been listening.

"Well, you certainly can't consider now the same as back then, though." Gorouza said. "Especially since Owari has yet to be fully unified. For instance, there are those who would just as soon do without our lord—" Gorouza stopped when he sensed a sudden killing intent. The boss kunoichi fired three arrows at Nobunaga, and Kamiko threw her kunai at him from the other side. Gorouza and Ayako sprang into action.

FWIP! THUD, THUD, THUD!

"Eeeek_!_?" Kasane cried as the arrows and Gorouza whizzed past her. She looked up, and saw Gorouza standing in front of Nobunaga, and holding his zanbato up. He had used it to block all three of the arrows "Gorouza!" Kasane yelled, surprised.

"... We don't... know when we're going to be attacked like this." Gorouza said.

"That was close..." Ayako said, exhaling slowly. She was now standing up, crouching on the horse's back, where she had been sitting behind Nobunaga. She had somehow managed to catch the four kunai in between her fingers before they could hit their intended target.

"Ayako!" Kasane said, amazed. Ayako looked just like a real ninja, with the way she had caught the kunai so easily.

"Kuranosuke! The three on the right." Gorouza said.

"Like you have to tell me!" Kuranosuke said as he pulled out both of his guns and fired. "You're too easy to spot...!" He shouted at the kunoichi. They heard a thud as one of the women fell from the tree. "Got him! Go fetch, you stupid dog!" Kuranosuke told Inuchiyo.

"Whee!" Inuchiyo said as he leapt over to their fallen enemy.

"Tch! ...Geez." Kuranosuke grumbled as he reloaded his guns. "Just what the hell is... Uh!" He heard the click of another rifle. "Get down!" Kuranosuke yelled as the quiet kunoichi fired at the others. Gorouza and Ayako quickly pulled Nobunaga and Kasane to the ground, dodging the bullet.

'Eep!' Kasane screamed in her mind. "Wh-Wh-Wh-What's going on..._!_?" Kasane asked, confused and disorientated.

"Kasane, Ayako! It's dangerous here! Take our lord and—" Gorouza said urgently, but Ayako wasn't having any of that.

"No, I can still fight! I'm staying here with you guys. There's still a fourth one out there, remember?" Ayako said.

"These opponents are different from the farmers you fought the other day, Ayako! You won't be a match for them unarmed!" Gorouza said. "Go ahead and take our lord back to the castle—"

"Urah! You're mine!" Iname yelled as she suddenly jumped out of the bush behind Gorouza. "Ah!" She said when Gorouza blocked her attack from behind with his sword. 'A girl? Besides those two weirdo girls?' Iname thought, surprised. "Move aside?" She said, smiling cutely.

"You first." Gorouza said, smiling back radiantly. A vein mark throbbed on Iname's forehead.

'Why's she cuter than me_!_?' Iname thought angrily. "Hmph, weaklings... should get outta the way!" she yelled as she lunged at Gorouza, and their weapons clashed.

"Tch, come on!" Ayako said, grabbing Kasane and Nobunaga by their wrists, and pulling them along as she ran.

"But Gorouza...!" Kasane said.

"We'll just get in his way if we stay. He'll be able to fight at ease if he knows we're taking care of Nobunaga first." Ayako said.

"Heh. My, My, and what do we have here?" Kamiko said as she suddenly dropped down in front of them from were ever she had been hiding. The three of them came to a sudden stop as the kunoichi blocked their path. Ayako stared warily at the woman. She was more skilled at hiding her presence than the other three had been. "How cute... you look just like an angel I saw in a foreign painting that a trader had before. I bet you'd look even better with that golden hair of yours died red with your own blood..." Kamiko told Ayako mockingly as she licked her kunai. Ayako narrowed her eyes at the kunoichi and stepped forward, taking up a defensive position.

"What are you waiting for, Kasane? Gorouza said to get Nobunaga out of here." Ayako said calmly as she stared down her opponent. She was facing a strong and possibly mental unhinged opponent, unarmed, but she wasn't going to just back down and let people she cared about get hurt. She had made a promise to Nobunaga, and she intended to keep it.

"But—!" Kasane said.

"Just who do you think you're talking to, Kasane? Don't worry about me, I'll be fine since I'm an 'Onihime.'" Ayako said, smiling reassuringly at the nervous girl.

"Oh? You're going to face me alone and unarmed? You have some kind of death wish, Angel-san?" Kamiko said mockingly, and smirked as she lunged at Ayako. Ayako dodged the attack and started leading Kamiko away from Nobunaga and Kasane.

"I don't know what's going on, but... h-hurry!" Kasane said nervously as she tried to push Nobunaga towards his horse. "Get on your horse!"

"..." Nobunaga said, frowning. Despite Kasane's best efforts, the young lord wasn't budging.

"While Gorouza and them are holding them back, please escape, my Lord!" Kasane said urgently as she glanced around. 'What can I use as a weapon_!_?' She thought.

"Move it." Nobunaga ordered bluntly.

"Huh?" Kasane said, stunned as Nobunaga stalked past her. "Ah, the trouble's that way!"

"I let the mice find me on purpose." Nobunaga said, pausing to glance back at Kasane over his shoulder. He smirked. "If they're aiming for me, I should at least let them aim."

"_!_?" Kasane said. 'And again, I don't understand you...' She thought, bewildered.


	14. A Knockdown, Dragout Fight!

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>"Huh?" Inuchiyo said, confused, when all he found where the enemy had fallen was a few drops of blood. There should have been a body there... "They're not here." Inuchiyo said as he stared at the ground. The boss kunoichi loomed over him from behind. She quickly drew her sword and attacked.<p>

WHAM!

"Ggh!" The boss grunted in pain when Inuchiyo slammed the back end of his spear into her gut.

"Kidding!" Inuchiyo said, grinning, as he turned around to look at her. "I heard your footsteps... you see!" Inuchiyo said as he swiped at her with his spear. She dodged it. The boss kunoichi jumped up into the air, flipping, before landing on Inuchiyo's back, and using him as a springboard to jump again. "Gah! You stepped on me!" Inuchiyo shouted in disbelief as she escaped.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

BANG! BANG!

"Damn...! Where'd they go_!_?" Kuranosuke said, frustrated, as he reloaded his guns. "I can't even hit them with my 'Sasara'!"

I can't hit you either..." The quiet kunoichi said as she popped up behind him, holding a gun, and hanging from a tree. "Maybe because you're a runt...?" she deadpanned. Kuranosuke snapped. Those were fighting words. He spun around, put his gun right between her eyes, and pulled the trigger.

BANG! BANG!

"Small heart, too..." The small, quiet kunoichi said as she managed to somehow dodge the bullet, and ran away, completely unharmed.

"Wait, damn you! _You're_ the runt!" Kuranosuke yelled after her, a vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

CLANG!

"Gah! How can you look so cute and be so damn strong!" Iname said to Gorouza, annoyed, as their weapons grinded together.

"I apologize for that. Your eyes look string as well." Gorouza said politely.

"What do you mean by that_!_?" Iname asked, a vein mark throbbing on her forehead.

"But I've figured out how strong you are, so soon enough..." Gorouza said, smiling innocently.

"Hm?" Iname said.

"I'm going to bring you down!" Gorouza said as he hurled his huge zanbato at her, only keeping his grip on the loose part of the wrapping on the handle of the sword, using it as a leash for the huge weapon.

FWOOOOSH!

"Gah—_!_? You're throwing _that!_?" Iname yelled, going blue with shock as she accidentally backed up into a tree.

SLAM!

'Eeep!' Iname screamed internally as the huge sword slammed into the tree next to her head, missing her by a hair.

"Iname!" The boss kunoichi yelled as she and the quiet kunoichi arrived on the scene, Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke hot on their trail.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Hold still~!" Kamiko sang as she lunged at Ayako again. So far, Ayako had no problem dodging and reading the kunoichi's movements, but without a weapon, a counter attack seemed to be nearly impossible for her.

'She's fast!' Ayako thought as she dodged yet another attack.

"But this is starting to get old!" Kamiko said, disappearing from sight.

"!" Ayako gasped in surprise and alarm when Kamiko suddenly reappeared dropkicked her from behind her.

"Gah!" Ayako grunted in pain when she slammed into the ground. The force of the attack actually caused her to form a mini crater. Ayako struggled to stand up again, but in the blink of an eye, Kamiko was yanking Ayako to her knees, by her long hair. Ayako winced in pain.

"Hmm... but it might be a shame to kill you now..." Kamiko said as she smirked down sadistically at Ayako. The kunoichi yanked Ayako up by her hair again, and then pulled her down, causing Ayako's knees to slam harshly into the ground. Ayako grit her teeth to keep herself from crying out in pain.

'If only I could just get free again... There must be something I can use...!' Ayako thought.

"... I wonder what kind of face you'd make if I made you watch while we severed that idiot young lord's head from his neck!" Kamiko said, giggling, as she gripped her kunai and tried to stab Ayako's shoulder. "_!_?" Kamiko said in surprise when Ayako's hand suddenly shot up and grabbed her wrist, before Kamiko could actually stab her.

Ayako, still gripping the wrist of Kamiko's hand that was holding the kunai, forced it upwards, using the kunai to slice through her own hair, freeing herself. Kamiko's eyes widened in surprise as she stood there, stunned. She couldn't believe that a woman would actually sacrifice her hair, one of a woman's most important features, like that. Ayako quickly jumped up and thrust the palm of her hand upwards, breaking Kamiko's nose.

"Gyaaaah_!_?" Kamiko screamed in surprise and pain as she fell to her knees, holding her face. It hurt like hell."You bitch!" Kamiko yelled angrily as she glared up at Ayako. Kamiko froze. Ayako was glaring down at her, her eyes veiled in shadow. Though Ayako looked eerily calm, her menacing aura betrayed her true feelings. Kamiko couldn't move. The kunoichi realized that for the first time, in her entire life, she was paralyzed with fear.

"You'll take his head...? Don't make me laugh." Ayako said coldly as she glared down at Kamiko, her anger at the kunoichi was masking the sick feeling of dread she had felt at the thought of losing Nobunaga. Sure, he was an annoying jerk most of the time, but that didn't mean she hated him... And, until she had heard how serious Kamiko was about harming him, Ayako hadn't really realized just how _much_ she had come to care for the young lord over the past few days. Ayako clenched her fist. "As if I'd let you!" She yelled as she kicked Kamiko, not wanting to give the dangerous woman a chance to recover and turn the tables on her again. The force of the blow sent Kamiko flying back into a tree. "Sorry, coming after me is one thing, but if you hurt the people I care about... that's another thing entirely. Hurt my loved ones, and I'll show you a glimpse of hell." Ayako said darkly.

"Ngh!" Kamiko grunted in pain before she lost consciousness.

"Whoa, check it out, boss! Someone actually took out _that_ Kamiko!" Ayako heard Iname say.

"!" Ayako said as she spun around to see the three other kunoichi leaping through the treetops. 'Where are Gorouza and the others..._!_?' Ayako wondered. That's when she noticed it. She could see Nobunaga standing in a small clearing, a few yards away from them. He had his back to them. That's what the three women had been aiming for all along.

"Then, we'll also... bring one down...!" The boss shouted as all three of them descended upon Nobunaga. Ayako's eyes widened. For some reason, he wasn't wearing his sword anymore.

"Nobunaga!" Ayako yelled as she sprinted towards him, and Gorouza and the others ran onto the scene. 'They're too fast...! We won't make it...!' Ayako thought, horrified, but then a shadowed figure swiftly moved out from behind Nobunaga, drawing the young lord's sword, and striking down all three kunoichi with a single blow from the back of the sword's blade. It was Kasane.

CRASH!

The three kunoichis landed harshly on the ground as they were thrown back by the force of Kasane's attack.

"!" They all said when they looked up to see Gorouza, Kuranosuke, Inuchiyo, and Kasane standing before them and pointing their weapons at them. Ayako didn't have a weapon, so instead, she was standing beside Nobunaga in a defensive position, ready to defend him if needed.

'I-I was so scared, ahhh!' Kasane thought, as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. She was so glad Nobunaga's plan had worked. Kasane had been afraid she might mess up and get him killed.

"I don't know what province hired you, but... If you're aiming for Owari, you should reconsider your strength. If you want to defeat me, you'd better comeback once you're able to take these guys down! Leave here, little girls." Nobunaga stated, glaring sharply at them.

"Ghg...!" The boss grunted in frustration, gritting her teeth.

"... You don't have to tell us that..." The quiet kunoichi said, pulling out a strange looking ball that had been tied together with rope. It looked like there was a lit fuse coming out of he top of it. "Let's go..." she calmly to her teammates.

"Gah!" Kuranosuke yelled. Paling slightly when he saw the bomb.

"Eh? What?" Kasane said, wondering what the strange item could be. The sengoku era explosive didn't look like any modern weapon she had seen before.

"Is that a bom—_!_?" Ayako yelled, knowing that anything with a fuse sticking out of it was probably bad news.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

_BOOOOM!_

"Whoa! What was that_!_?" Two peasants, who were working in their fields, just outside of the forest cried in alarm when a huge explosion shook the forest behind them. Even some of the animals in the forest were running away. The bomb had caused a huge mushroom cloud.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

The three guys coughed as the smoke from the explosion started to clear. Gorouza had managed to shield them with his zanbato at the last minute, so they were only a little singed around the egdes. The three women were gone.

"Damn! What is this_!_? Where'd they go_!_?" Kuranosuke shouted.

"It looked like they were after our lord, but..." Gorouza said.

"That was close! Good thing it was mostly a smoke bomb... Are you guys okay?" Ayako said, coughing slightly as she and Nobunaga came over to them. Since they had both realized it was a bomb, they had ducked for cover a little further away, and had managed to avoid being singed.

"Katsusaburou said that there were some suspicious girls in Kiyosu." Nobunaga told the three guys.

"Ah! That was probably them..." Ayako said in realization.

"Yes, I suspected as much." Nobunaga said.

"In Kiyosu?" Gorouza asked, coughing. "Who could they work for? The Imagawa's... or maybe the Saitou clan...?"

"..." Nobunaga said, thinking it over. "How would I know!" Nobunaga said defiantly, fwipping his head back, and holding his head high. Ayako sweat dropped.

'What are you acting so proud for...?' Ayako thought sweat dropping. 'Although, he does look kind of cute, pouting like that—Whoa, whoa, whoa... Don't go there, Ayako!' She scolded herself. 'You know you can't like him for various reasons, so let's just pull this love plane up, before you crash and burn.'

"Oh! That's right, are you hurt, my Lord? Ayako?" Gorouza asked.

"Nope!" Nobunaga said carelessly, already feeling a little bored now that all the excitement was over.

"I think I might've hit my head..." Ayako mumbled. "I mean, I'm alright!" Ayako said, not wanting to worry them.

"Kasane..." Gorouza asked, looking around for her. "Haahh..." Gorouza said, stunned when he saw her. Poor Kasane was just standing there, stunned. She hadn't dodged the attack like the others, and although she didn't seem to be seriously wounded, she now resembled a piece of burnt toast. There was even smoke coming off of her. Kasane's legs finally gave out, and she flopped back onto the ground, unconscious.

"K-Kasane_!_? Hang in there!" Ayako shouted as she started checking her friend for injuries. She sighed in relief. Kasane wasn't seriously injured, she was just stunned.

"Inuchiyo, run her back to the castle!" Gorouza ordered.

"The smoke hurts my eyes!" Inuchiyo said, rubbing his eyes, reminding Ayako of a puppy whining.

"Hey, your rabbit was roasted hole in the blast." Kuranosuke told him.

"Let's eat!" Inuchiyo said excitedly.

"We'll eat after we get back!" Gorouza said.

"It's no use, Gorouza, I'll take her." Ayako said, standing up with Kasane propped up on her back. "Ah!" Ayako cried out in surprise as her injured knees buckled under the extra weight, and she fell over with Kasane. "... Ow." Ayako said as she lay on the ground.

"Ayako! Are you sure you're alright?" Gorouza asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just forgot my knees were injured earlier by that weird kunoichi, and they couldn't handle the extra weight... Kasane's heavier than she looks..." Ayako said, laughing and smiling wryly.

"There was another one_!_? Say things like that sooner! Where is she now_!_?" Kuranosuke yelled.

"I didn't really have get the chance to say anything, did I? I was too busy trying not to die, protecting our lord, and dodging a bomb!" Ayako yelled back. "But don't worry, she's probably still out cold." Ayako felt someone tug on a strand of her hair. It was Nobunaga, and he didn't look pleased.

"What...?" Ayako asked, wondering what his problem was. Nobunaga looked kind of scary. His eyes were partially cast in shadow, and he was emitting an ominous aura.

"Did they do _this_...?" Nobunaga asked, referring to her recently cut hair. It was now rather short, and fell just below her chin.

"Ah! Your hair's been cut!" Inuchiyo shouted in alarm.

"Oh my, hair is said to be a woman's crowing glory... What a horrible thing to do!" Gorouza said. Ayako sweat dropped.

"Guys, calm down! It's just hair, it'll grow back." Ayako said. "Besides, I did this to myself. She had me by my hair, and I couldn't get free, so..."

"So she cut her own hair, selflessly sacrificing one of a woman's most important features, in order to free herself, so that she could save a friend! Kyaa~! Isn't she just too cool~!" Kamiko said, suddenly popping up from out of nowhere.

"You—_!_?" Ayako yelled, surprised, as she put herself in between Nobunaga and Kamiko. Most people would still be unconscious after taking a blow like that.

"That's right, little angel~! I'm back, but don't worry. To be honest, I couldn't care less what happens to that young lord over there. I was just assisting those three as a hired worker of sorts." Kamiko said, waving her hand carelessly in a dismissive motion at Nobunaga. "I have just one thing to say to you..." Kamiko told Ayako, smirking. Gorouza, Inuchiyo, Kuranosuke, and Nobunaga all stood by Ayako, flanking and shielding her. Ayako was touched that they all cared so much, but Nobunaga really shouldn't have done that, since he was the original target.

"—Please, let me serve you~! Master~!" Kamiko shouted as she suddenly kneeled on the ground and bowed before Ayako. They all stared at the strange kunoichi, stunned.

"H-Huh..._!_?" Ayako yelled, beyond confused.

"I've been working as a mercenary because I haven't been able to find a worthy master to serve—until today! You're not only strong enough to defeat me, but you spared my life... and the way you glared at me... it sent shivers up my spine~!" Kamiko said, blushing.

"..." Ayako said as they all stared at the strange woman, not quite sure how to react. Why the heck was she blushing..._!_? "Weren't you acting like an 'S' when we fought? Why are you...?" Ayako asked, confused. She thought for sure Kamiko would've wanted revenge for what she had done.

"I usually am an 'S', but I don't mind being an 'M' if it's you, _Master_~!" Kamiko said, blushing shyly. Ayako went blue with shock, shuddered, and almost broke out in hives. While Ayako was straighter than and arrow, it wasn't like she was homophobic—but the whole 'S&M' thing was creeping her out.

"Ahh... No, that's okay... I don't really need a servant or a bodyguard, so..." Ayako said, trying to figure out how to get rid of the creepy woman.

"So, _what_?" Kamiko said darkly, clearly not going to take 'no' for an answer.

"Get lost." Nobunaga ordered bluntly as he placed his hand on top of Ayako's head. "She's _our_ Onihime, get your own!" Sparks of animosity flew between Nobunaga and Kamiko as they glared at each other over Ayako's head.

"How rude! My master is too cute to be compared to an ugly oni! Her nickname should be Angel! That's 'Angel-sama' to you!" Kamiko said tartly, narrowing her eyes at Nobunaga.

"Wait... _that's_ what she's upset about..._!_?" Kuranosuke shouted. "And why are they fighting over this shrimp so seriously_!_?"

"I haven't seen our lord take such and intense and immediate disliking to someone like this in a long time..." Gorouza said thoughtfully.

"They lord is scary when he's angry..." Inuchiyo said, shuddering at the memory of what had happened the last time. Ayako sweat dropped, she wasn't sure she wanted to know how that particular story ended.

'That woman is crazy, and there's no telling what Nobunaga will do if provoked... I'd better end this before those two start WWIII...' Ayako thought.

"I understand." Ayako said, sighing resignedly. Nobunaga whipped his head around, turning his glare onto her. Ayako flinched and avoided his gaze as she began to sweat nervously. Kamiko, however, was now smiling happily at her with the radiance of a thousand suns. "H-However, since you did just try to kill me a minute ago, there is one condition..." Ayako said. "In order to prove how serious you are about this, I want to give you a task to perform for me."

"I understand, Angel-sama. What is it? Shall I slaughter your enemies~? Perhaps you have someone that you would like assassinated~?" Kamiko said, smiling.

"No, nothing like _that_... I want you to... bring me an Iriomote cat." Ayako said. Kamiko stared at her, blinking in surprise.

"... A cat?" Kamiko asked, not sure she had heard right. Ayako nodded.

"Yes, a _wild_ cat. I saw one once when I was younger. They're rather cute." Ayako said. "If you can bring me one, unharmed, then I'll consider letting you follow me."

"I see, how cute of you, Angel-sama, to wish for a fluffy kitten. Very well, I shall leave to accomplish this task at once, and I shall not return until I have succeeded in capturing this 'Iriomote cat.' Until we meet again, Angel-sama~!" Kamiko said, smiling confidently as she raced off to complete her mission. Once the strange woman was gone, Ayako glanced cautiously at Nobunaga. He still looked pissed.

"Why did you accept her?" Nobunaga demanded. That kunoichi had a lot of guts to try to take Ayako for herself... and there was absolutely no guarantee that Kamiko wouldn't eventually turn on Ayako and try to kill her again.

"I did no such thing!" Ayako said defensively. You heard her, she wasn't going to give up, so I sent her on a wild goose chase." Ayako felt a little guilty for sending the unsuspecting woman on what was probably an impossible task, but she wasn't stupid enough to just accept protection from someone who had been ready to kill her and her friends only just a few minutes ago, and she knew Nobunaga didn't like Kamiko.

"How so?" Gorouza asked.

"The animal I asked her to find, the Iriomote cat, has been around for a super long time, but it wasn't actually discovered until the 1950's, so even if she managed to figure out where they lived, she shouldn't be able to find them." Ayako said.

"I see, so you just said all of that to get rid of her. As expected of an Onihime." Kuranosuke said. He still didn't believe that Ayako and Kasane were from the future, though.

"Not you too_!_?" Ayako cried, chagrined. This nickname was starting to catch on. "But yeah, she should give up on me and that cat soon enough." Ayako said, sighing.

"Hmph. That's fine, then_. As long as she never comes back_." Nobunaga said sternly, furrowing his brows in irritation.

"Yeah... she kind of gave me the creeps..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. She didn't get why Nobunaga was so upset.

"Wait, aren't we forgetting something important...?" Gorouza said, suddenly remembering that they had been about to do something before Kamiko showed up.

They all looked around, and saw poor Kasane, lying on the ground—extra crispy.

"K-Kasane!" Gorouza and Ayako yelled in alarm. They quickly grabbed the poor girl and rushed her back to the castle.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I'm pretty sure that in the Sengoku era, most noble women wore their hair down and really long because it was a status symbol: the longer your hair, supposedly the more beauty you possessed. So, I had the others freak out when her hair was cut, because that seems to happen a lot in mangas when a girl's hair is suddenly cut like that, and it kind of makes sense if you consider what long hair meant for a woman back then. A woman probably wouldn't usually think of having her hair cut short as a good thing. ^_^;


	15. Fighting Weather

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>{Owari, Nagoya Castle}<p>

By the time they had returned from their little 'hunting trip,' it was evening, and Ayako had helped Kasane clean herself up a little and applied a healing balm for a minor burn that Kasane had gotten, and Ayako bandaged her own knees, before they made supper. Other than that, Kasane was completely unharmed, and the burn would be gone in a day. Since They smelled of smoke from the bomb, the two girls had borrowed some simple, but pretty kimonos from some maids in the castle that got along with Ayako, so that they could wash their clothes, and air them out to get rid of the smoke.

"Ah! Ayako-chan, you look so pretty in that kimono!" Kasane said, smiling, as the two girls walked to the kitchen together to help Gorouza prepare supper.

"You too, Kasane! That color really suits you." Ayako said, smiling happily. It had been a while since she wore girl's clothing of any kind. Since she knew she was going to be fighting a lot, she had chosen to wear men's clothes when Nobunaga told her he'd give her one free starter outfit, to help her blend in to the era better. Although they were practical, and Ayako didn't want to be seen as a 'weak woman' by the other soldiers, she still wished she'd picked something a little more feminine sometimes. Girl clothes just were much more fun to wear.

"Oh, don't you two look nice." Gorouza said, complementing them when they entered the kitchen.

"Thanks!" The two girls said happily, grinning.

"So, what's on the menu tonight?" Ayako asked as she and Kasane rolled up their sleeves and went to work.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Ah, I think I ate too much~! I feel so sleepy..." Ayako said as she and Kasane stood up to walk back to their room once supper was over. Kasane yawned and nodded in agreement.

"A lot happened today, too..." Kasane said.

"Gorouza, Onihime." Nobunaga said, stopping Ayako, and getting Gorouza's attention.

"Hmm?" Ayako said, too sleepy and mellowed out from all the exercise she had gotten running around earlier and the good food she had just eaten, to get mad over the nickname.

"Yes, my Lord?" Gorouza asked.

"Stay, there is something I wish to discuss with the two of you." Nobunaga said calmly as he drank from his sake cup. "The rest of you are free to go."

"Goodnight, everybody!" Kasane said sleepily as she left.

"Goodnight!" Inuchiyo said as he and Kuranosuke left too. They were washing the dishes since Gorouza, Ayako, and Kasane had cooked.

"What is it that you wish to discuss, my Lord?" Gorouza asked.

"...Wait a minute... aren't you nineteen? Aren't you too young to be drinking, or is there no age limit for the legal consumption of alcohol here?" Ayako said, suddenly realizing what Nobunaga was doing.

"Age limit...?" Gorouza asked, confused.

"Yes, where I come from, you have to be at least twenty-one before you're considered and adult and can legally consume alcohol." Ayako said.

"Hmph. The average person lives about fifty years. If we waited that long to drink, our lives would be half-way over." Nobunaga said. "Normally a girl of your age, sixteen, would be married with children by now." Ayako gaped at him, her face flushing red in embarrassment at the thought of being such a young mother.

"No way! I can't have a kid when I'm still just an immature brat myself! I need to grow up a little more before I take on that kind of responsibility!" Ayako said. "But I guess it only makes sense for you guys... I forgot that people didn't use to live as long. The average life-span of a human were I'm from is like, seventy-something."

"Seventy...!" Gorouza said, amazed. Ayako nodded.

"Yes, but the people in my family usually live to be about ninety, and we have baby faces, so we age pretty gracefully too." Ayako said, smiling cheekily.

"No wonder you speak as though you have all the time in the world..." Gorouza said, sweat dropping. Ninety years was a long time to live.

"Yes, fascinating." Nobunaga deadpanned. "Back to the matter at hand... How do you think those three girls and _that thing_ were able to infiltrate this territory so easily?" Nobunaga said, referring to the three kunoichi and Kamiko. "They have been spotted before, but no one intercepted them."

"Hmm, that is strange... If any of our soldiers were aware of such suspicious trespassers, they should have at least tried to apprehend them." Gorouza said.

"... I don't want to be rude or anything, but you don't think they could have possibly had help from someone on the inside, do you? You mentioned that you had enemies within the castle before..." Ayako said. "... Or maybe, the soldiers have gotten a case of 'spring fever' and are unintentionally slacking off."

"It's true that the soldiers' discipline has started to wane a little lately..." Gorouza admitted. "I think they are becoming a little overconfident after experiencing victory in the battles we recently fought."

"It's most likely a combination of both." Nobunaga said. "There is not much I can do about the first option without definitive proof, but the second option is another thing entirely. How should I whip them into shape?" Nobunaga asked, smirking. He had a few ideas of his own, but he thought it would be interesting to see what Gorouza and Ayako came up with.

"I believe we should definitely confront the issue. It might be beneficial if you addressed the troops yourself, my Lord." Gorouza said. "Perhaps if we increased their training..."

"Oh, I know!" Ayako said excitedly. "How about we do something fun for exercise that'll help keep them in shape and raise their morale at the same time?"

"Something fun...?" Gorouza asked. Weren't they just talking about how the soldiers weren't being serious enough? Though it was true that if Nobunaga cracked down _too_ hard on them, they might become discontent.

"Yeah! Oh, at the temple, my uncle used to have me and his students spar against each other when he thought we were getting too cocky and were slacking off! We would go in thinking we were hot stuff, but then, once we were in a real fight again, we would start to notice our flaws, and see how we compared to the others. Once we realized how much catching up we needed to do, it spurred us on to better ourselves. Maybe you could do something like that? We could turn it into a game by having prizes and consequences!" Ayako said excitedly, like a little kid in a candy store. Nobunaga smirked. He could always count on Ayako to say something interesting.

"Hmm... That could work." Gorouza said thoughtfully. "And it'll also give us a chance to evaluate each individual's skills and specialties."

"Hmph, sounds interesting." Nobunaga said, smirking. "Then, we'll have the 'skill assessment tournament' tomorrow. Ayako can be the judge."

"Eh_!_? But I wanted to play too!" Ayako said, pouting.

"But you still haven't replaced your weapon yet, Ayako. The matches will be simulating battles with weapons, so if you go in unarmed, you'll be at a disadvantage, and you're also injured, aren't you?" Gorouza pointed out.

"But you're going to let Kasane participate, aren't you?" Ayako said stubbornly, still pouting. "After all, it'll give you a chance to see what she can really do. I have a feeling she's really strong."

"Yes, however, Kasane can simply use a spare katana. Your weapon of choice is a hanbo, and we don't happen to have any that can be lent to you. Isn't that why you've been fighting without a weapon? Because you don't know how to use a different one?" Gorouza said.

"Why haven't you purchased a new hanbo yet?" Nobunaga asked. Ayako stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Are _you_ seriously asking me that? You haven't paid me the salary for becoming your soldier that you promised me yet, so how can I buy anything when I have no money?" Ayako said.

"I remember promising you food, shelter, and clothing. Money was never mentioned." Nobunaga said carelessly.

"But I became one of your soldiers, so I though I was getting the same deal as them?" Ayako said, confused. She wasn't really complaining, but it was kind of annoying to have so little financial freedom. The money she had in her wallet was from the future, and therefore, worthless in this era.

"How about we make a bet, Ayako? If I allow you to compete in the tournament tomorrow, and you defeat _all_ of your opponents... I will not only give you a salary, but I will also buy you a new weapon." Nobunaga said, smirking. Ayako's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but then she grinned back at Nobunaga.

"You're on!" Ayako shouted enthusiastically. Gorouza smiled and shook his head. There was never a dull moment when these two were in the same room. He could tell that the young lord was looking forward to the next day.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{The next morning}

The song birds were chirping happily as they flittered about outside in the beautiful weather, while Kasane lay in bed, sleeping peacefully... or at least she would've been, if Tenrou hadn't been sitting on her head, pecking her softly to wake her up. Ayako was taking care of a few things for Nobunaga, so she had asked tenrou to wake Kasane up for her.

"Ow... Owww..." Kasane moaned in pain as she lay in bed, still wearing the kimono she had borrowed the other day. "Th-That hurts, Tenrou. I'm sorry, I'll get up soon!" Kasane said. 'I wonder if Masamune and Kotetsu are up...' Kasane thought as she stepped outside and took her school uniform off of the clothesline. "Yesterday really took me by surprise, too. Who were those guys?" She wondered, thinking about the mysterious women from the other day. 'But being attacked like that, out of nowhere... this really isn't anything like my Japan.' Kasane noticed that Tenrou had been staring at the sword that was lying on the floor, next to her futon, while she was getting dressed. "Ah! That reminds me, I never returned our lord's sword! If I don't return it soon, he'll get mad!" Kasane said nervously, as she quickly finished getting dressed.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"!" Kasane said as she held the katana and walked to Nobunaga's room. 'What is this... for some weird reason, something's bothering me...' Kasane thought. It was so quite today. "Uhh... I'll think it over later." Kasane decided out loud as she reached the young lord's room. "Good morning! I came to return... the sword..." Kasane said as she opened the door. She stared into the empty and completely silent room. No one was there. "... Huh?" Kasane said. She opened another door. "My lord?" Kasane called as she ran, searching for any sign of life in the suddenly completely empty castle. "Anyone...?" Kasane stood there in silence, starting to panic. _"...Huh!"_ She shouted, scaring one of the cats, causing it to hiss at her. "Huh...? What the... Why is everyone gone_!_? Am I all alone in an alien world..._!_?" Kasane cried. At least she still had Tenrou. The hawk was perched on her shoulder. Something in the distance caught Tenrou's attention, and he flew off, abandoning Kasane. "Ahh! Wait, Tenrou! Don't leave me alone!" Kasane cried, flinching in shock as she watched the majestic bird fly away. "Were we attacked in the night? Was everyone kidnapped?" Kasane thought out loud, panicking. "F–For starters, I have to settle down and think this through agai—"

"..." Ikeda said as he loomed up behind her. Kasane flinched in shock as she spun around, sensing that she wasn't alone anymore. Ikeda stared at her.

'Just when did he get behind me?' Kasane wondered, but she was relieved to see a familiar face. "You're Ikeda Katsusaburou, right?" Kasane said as he plucked Nobunaga's sword from out of her hands. "Ah!" She said, surprised.

FWIP!

"_!_? A wooden sword?" Kasane said, surprised when Ikeda replaced the real sword he had just taken from her with a wooden sword. Ikeda suddenly turned on his heel and started walking away. "Huh_!_? W–Wait a minute! No explanation_!_?" Kasane shouted in surprise, sweat dropping, as she ran after him.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

'Outside...?' Kasane thought. She had followed Ikeda Katsusaburou outside, to a large, open area in the castle grounds that had been fenced in by several wooden frames that held larger banners bearing the Oda clan's crest There were torch stands set up for use later, when the even came and the sky grew darker. There were lots of men, Nobunaga's soldiers standing around and talking. They were all wearing their everyday kimonos and hakama. It was probably the first time Kasane had seen any of them without their armor on.

"—Hm?" Kasane said. "Wh–What's this huge crowd for_!_?" Kasane yelled, surprised. The men stared at her.

"—A girl?" One man whispered, surprised.

"Who's she?" Another man asked.

"Hey, that's the girl from Narumi we heard about..." Another man told him.

"Um... is this some kind of event or something...?" Kasane asked as she turned to look back at Ikeda. _"Ikeda—!_?" Kasane cried, going blue with shock when she realized he wasn't there anymore. "I knew that'd happened!" 'What should I do?' Kasane thought nervously, hugging the wooden sword as the men stared at her.

"Heeeeeey~!" Kasane heard Inuchiyo yell.

"Hm?" Kasane said, glancing over in his direction.

"Hey, Ka_t_ane!" Inuchiyo yelled, waving excitedly as he ran over to her.

"Inuchiyo!" Kasane yelled, relived to see a friendly face. Inuchiyo was so tall, that he really stood out in the crowd. "It's Kasane." She corrected him. "Hey, Kurochiyo~!" Kasane said as the dog ran up to greet her along with Inuchiyo.

"Huh? Kamane?" Inuchiyo asked.

"Phew, thank God! Ikeda just suddenly disappeared on me." Kasane said, relived. "So, you're okay. You guys being gone totally wigged me out." Kasane said with a silly smile on her face, rubbing the back of her neck.

"?" Inuchiyo said, not getting what she meant. "I ate every last bite of breakfast." He was wearing a silly smile on his face too.

"That so? Ahahaha." Kasane said, laughing in a silly way.

"Hey, what's with the silly talk?" Kuranosuke said, a vein mark throbbing on his forehead. The idiots were practically sparkling, and he wouldn't be surprised if flowers sprouted out of their empty heads.

"Ah! Kura!" Inuchiyo said happily.

"Kuranosuke!" Kasane said.

"Don't look at me, you're stupidity might spread." Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping.

"Um, so what's going on...?" Kasane asked.

"Everyone's gathered. I don't even know why myself. A letter from our lord came into Hira last night, and... All it says is to bring your weapon and come here." Kuranosuke said, handing the letter to Kasane so she could read it for herself.

"!" Kasane said when she tried to read it. There were some ancient characters used in the letter that she had never seen before. "Are those kanji_!_? I can't read them..." Kasane said, sweat dropping.

"I can! I got one too." Inuchiyo said.

"Meaning... Everyone here is our lord's... Oda Nobunaga's vassals_!_? Wow!" Kasane asked, amazed.

"Hmph, well, yeah. Except for you and that Onihime. I thought I saw her around before, but then she disappeared." Kuranosuke said. "Ask Gorouza, he might know something. Though, I haven't seen him around either..." Inuchiyo tapped him on the shoulder.

"Kura, Kura! Maybe, just maybe~" Inuchiyo said excitedly. "It's an eating competition~!" Inuchiyo said, drooling. His eyes were sparkling with anticipation and hope.

"Must be nice, being that carefree. Wait, didn't you have a full breakfast?" Kuranosuke said.

"Ah! Then, maybe it's a festival_!_?" Kasane said excitedly.

"Quiet, idiot number two!" Kuranosuke said, a vein mark pulsing on his forehead.

"What do you like, Inuchiyo?" Kasane asked, ignoring him.

"Rice!" Inuchiyo said happily.

SLAM!

"!" Kuranosuke said, turning to see what had caused the noise.

DONG~! DONG~! SHING!

Nobunaga stepped forward as Ayako beat a huge gong. Tenrou was perched on his shoulder. The cape he was wearing swayed in the breeze as he walked.

"Ah! My Lord!" Inuchiyo yelled excitedly.

"My Lord! Lord Nobunaga!" The other vassals shouted, bowing as Nobunaga ascended the platform that had been erected so that he could sit and watch the fights from a better vantage point. Nobunaga's cape swished, swirling dramatically, as he sat down in his 'power chair,' as Ayako had called it. Instead of her usual chores, Nobunaga had decided to have Ayako design and set up the 'arena' and 'stage' for the tournament. He let her ask Gorouza for help with the actual construction part, so this whole thing had been set up by just the two of them. Nobunaga thought it would be more interesting if it were a surprise for his vassals, so the less people who knew about it beforehand, the better.

"—My Lord, are you well?" One of his vassals said, interrupting his thoughts. Nobunaga stared at the man as he lounged in his chair, leaning his head on one of his hands. "We heard you were attacked yesterday when walking through the woods. All of us were worried about you." The vassal said.

"As you can see, it wasn't serious." Nobunaga said, smiling. "Thank you for gathering on such short notice."

'Oh? He's in a really good mood today, isn't he?' All the vassals thought, slightly stunned and sweating nervously. Every time their lord smiled like that, a demon got it's wings. The vassal who had spoken before gulped nervously.

"As for why I've called you all together today..." Nobunaga said, still smiling. "Lately—"

"An eating competition?" Inuchiyo whispered hopefully, fidgeting excitedly.

"A festival?" Kasane said hopefully, also fidgeting excitedly.

"You've all—_been slacking off!_!" Nobunaga yelled, cracking the metaphorical whip. "I don't care if you worry about me! It's your carelessness that allowed the raiders to get into our land in the first place! Today, I'm going to beat your flab back into shape!" The vassals all flinched, and Kasane was nearly blown away by the roar of Nobunaga's fierce scolding.

"... But... how are you going to do that...?" Kasane asked, a little dazed.

"Starting now, everyone here will begin one-on-one sparring." Nobunaga stated.

"Sp-Sparring_!_?" The vassals asked, surprised.

"Fight and win with whatever weapon you choose. There are no rules for the matches. Based on the outcome of your matches, I will cut your salary without mercy!" Nobunaga declared.

'Whoa...! Sp-Sparring~!' Kasane thought, so excited that she was sparkling.

"Ahhh..." Kuranosuke sighed heavily.

"You guys don't look excited." Kasane said, confused.

"Of course not... he's cutting our wages." Kuranosuke said gloomily.

"When your wages are cut, you get less food." Inuchiyo said, depressed. The two boys were entering their own little corner of woe.

"But you'll be fine if you win, right?" Kasane said.

"Don't be stupid, idiot!" Kuranosuke snapped at her.

"Naturally, this won't only result in salary cuts." Nobunaga said. "Those who do well will gain a higher post in my retinue, and will also have greater allowances in food and board. Brace yourself, and give it your all." Kuranosuke and Inuchiyo instantly perked up when they realized they could a promotion and more rice.

I'm not going to lose to you!" Kuranosuke told Inuchiyo, laughing darkly, his eyes veiled in shadow.

"Nope, I'll win!" Inuchiyo said, his eyes cast in shadow as drool dripped from the corner of his mouth. The two boys were surrounded by a burning aura of determination.

"Can I also have a go_!_?" Kasane asked excitedly.

"Must be nice, being as carefree as them..." The other vassals said, sweat dropping.

"Huh? But what about Gorouza? Is he taking the day off?" Inuchiyo asked.

"Like I know. He loses by default and takes the salary cut, serves him right." Kuranosuke said grinning devilishly, polishing his guns.

DONG~! DONG~! Ayako beat the gong again, announcing the arrival of another major player.

"Well then, we'll now begin the assessment matches." Gorouza said, stepping onto the stage beside Nobunaga, wearing a special outfit for his role as referee and M.C.

"Don't call them assessments..." The men said gloomily.

"Huh? It's Gorouza." Kasane said.

"Wha—_!_?" Kuranosuke shouted.

"I'm in charge. Our lord's letter made me the referee. I received a large sum in advance for my special role today. Please don't worry." Gorouza said, smiling radiantly.

"What did you say_!_?" The men asked, stunned. "You're terrible, Niwa Gorouza...!"

"He's always been like that, hasn't he..." Kuranosuke said, suddenly feeling down again.

"Yeah." Inuchiyo said. "No fair, Gorouza."

"Now then, first up will be—" Gorouza said.

"Me! Pick me! Pick me!" Inuchiyo yelled, waving excitedly.

"Is that okay, my Lord?" Gorouza asked.

"Yes." Nobunaga said.

"Eh? But I thought I was going first!" Ayako said, pouting. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"You can go next." Nobunaga said carelessly.

"I'm going to hold you to that." Ayako said, narrowing her eyes slightly at him.

"Hmph." Nobunaga said, smirking cunningly at her. A few of the vassals sweat dropped.

'How brave... to talk back to the lord like that... No wonder she's been nicknamed Onihime.' They all thought. Inuchiyo was just smiling and stretching, getting ready for his match.

"Then it will be Maeda Inuchiyo versus... Mouri Shinsuke—!" Gorouza said.

"Y-Yes, Sir!" Shinsuke said nervously as his friends patted him on the back and cheered him on. The two men stepped forward and faced each other.

"Begin!" Gorouza said.

"Let's have a good match!" Inuchiyo said bowing politely.

"Ah!" Shinsuke said nervously. "L–Let's have... a good—" The poor boy's words died in his throat when Inuchiyo suddenly jumped up into the air above him.

"Whoa! A surprise attack! No less from a wild kid! He can really jump!" The spectators cheered.

SLAM!

"Ugh!" Shinsuke grunted as he managed to block Inuchiyo's attack with his own spear. 'He's heavy!' Shinsuke thought as his arms trembled under the force and weight of Inuchiyo's attack. Inuchiyo leapt back, regaining his footing. 'And also...' Inuchiyo grinned as he twirled his spear and thrust it at Shinsuke, slicing through the sleeve of the other boy's kimono and grazing his arm. "H-He's fast...!" Shinsuke said sweating nervously.

"Inuchiyo... is really lively in a fight. He's always energetic, though." Kasane said, amazed, as she sat with Kuranosuke and watched the fight as the other men cheered and shouted at the two boys.

"That's since he's already a wild animal." Kuranosuke said. "It's because he's the fourth son. His chances of inheriting his family's estate are close to zilch. For him, the only path open is fighting under our lord. That spear is the thread connecting him to this world. The fight is all he is."

"... Really..." Kasane said softly as she watched Inuchiyo fight. 'Even though he usually seems so gentle, Inuchiyo also has a reason to fight.' She thought as Inuchiyo repeatedly slammed his spear into Shinsuke's.

"Ah...!" Shinsuke cried in alarm as his spear was knocked out of his hands, and fell to the ground with a clatter. "Ah!" He yelled when Inuchiyo attacked again, swinging his spear at the unarmed boy. Shinsuke held his arms in front of his face in a desperate and feeble attempt to shield himself.

FWIIISH!

Shinsuke was surprised when he realized that Inuchiyo had stopped the attack, holding his spear just an inch away from his arms.

"I-I yield...!" Shinsuke said, defeated. Inuchiyo smiled brightly and held his hand out to Shinsuke to help him stand up.

"Thanks for the fight." Inuchiyo said happily.

"Winner, Maeda Inuchiyo." Gorouza announced. The men cheered.

'But... is the fight really all he is?' Kasane wondered as she watched Inuchiyo help Shinsuke stand, and they both laughed. "Alright!" Kasane said, standing up. "I'd like to fight as well!"

"Huh_!_? You're going to fight_!_?" The men shouted, surprised.

"Sure, me! I'll fight you!" Inuchiyo said.

"Let someone else fight too!" the men shouted at him.

"That's right, it's my turn!" Ayako said, leaping off the stage.

"Hmph. They're all so easily riled up." Kuranosuke said, sighing.

"Inuchiyo is as strong as expected..." A young man said, coming to stand beside Shinsuke.

"Koheita." Shinsuke said. "Yeah... but... now I'm sure my pay's going to be docked..." He said, entering his corner of woe.

"Oh... I see..." Koheita said, sweat dropping.

"What do you mean? Failure is something you should overcome with hard work." Another man said as he approached them.

"L-Lord Kawajiri!" the two boys said.

"Our lord isn't the type of person who only sees victory or defeat." Kawajiri said, smiling.

"Y-Yes, Sir! I'll work on it!" Shinsuke said.

"He's so cool." Koheita said.

"And you should watch the next two matches." Kawajiri said. "First, is the one between those two over there." He said, pointing to Ayako, who was about to begin her fight.

"Let's have a good match." Ayako said, smiling and bowing politely.

"Hmph." Her opponent said, frowning. He was a big, burly man by the name of Takeshi. Takeshi felt insulted, being told to fight a woman for an opponent. "Where's your weapon, _little girl_? We can't start until you get it." Ayako beamed at him, giving him a positively radiant shit-eating grin.

"It broke awhile back, so for now, I am the weapon. Don't let it bother you, let's just get started, shall we?" Ayako said, starting to get a little annoyed with her opponent's rude attitude.

"Tch! Just don't cry when I beat you into the grou—_!_?" Takeshi said, but he was unable to finish his sentence when Ayako delivered a roundhouse kick to his ribs.

"Look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but can't we just get on with this already?" Ayako said, sighing. "If you've got a problem with me, express it through fighting. Talk is cheap."

"She just attacked him without blinking an eye!" One of the men shouted, shocked. They had all thought her opponent was being an annoying jerk, but still...

"You..._!_?" Takeshi growled angrily as he stood up, and aimed his spear at her, finally starting to take her seriously. "I'll kill you!" He yelled as he suddenly thrust his spear at her. The movement was too fast for the human eye to follow. Some of the men went blue with shock.

'He's seriously trying to kill her...! She's finished!' They screamed internally... or so they thought.

"What are you aiming at?" Ayako asked, smirking, as she landed lightly on the extended spear. Her knees had healed up nicely, so Ayako had managed to gracefully dodge the attack before her opponent could stab her. After fighting a real ninja, a samurai was a piece of cake. Takeshi stared at her, frozen in shock.

"Wh-Who is that girl?" Shinsuke asked.

"Himura Ayako, also known as Onihime, or so I've heard. Our lord took her in after she was somehow stranded in our country. She seems to be half Japanese, but she's originally from a foreign country... though no one seems to know which one. She's a mysterious and cheerful girl, but I've heard she can be rather frightening when she's serious." Kawajiri said as Ayako ran along the spear and head butted Takeshi.

"Ghg...!" Takeshi grunted in pain. He glared at Ayako. There was no way he was going to lose to some little girl. He glanced at two of his fiends, who were standing nearby. They smirked and nodded in agreement to his silent question.

"Do you yield?" Ayako asked.

"I... don't!" Takeshi yelled as his two friends ran up behind her and tried to grab Ayako. Ayako simply took a step back, in between them, as they ran forward. She dropped down, low and delivered one fluid, low sweep kick to both men, knocking them off of their feet. They landed on top of Takeshi, and all three men banged their heads together, knocking themselves out.

"Whoa, she beat them all so easily, and she didn't even have a weapon...!" Shinsuke said, in awe, though it was a little scary. A lot of them men were so stunned, they had gone blue with shock.

"Y-Yeah... I can see why they call her Onihime." Koheita said, sweat dropping nervously. "It was over so quick... Takeshi didn't even stand a chance, and he's supposed to be the tenth strongest in the army...!"

"Hmm... I don't think our lord is too pleased with that dirty trick he tried to pull by bringing his friends into a one-on-one match, either." Kawajiri said as he glanced at Nobunaga, who was frowning at the three unconscious men. There was an ominous aura around him.

"Himura Ayako is the winner of this match." Gorouza announced.

"Ah, I forgot to mention this earlier, but since these are supposed to be _one-on-one_ matches... Anyone who gives outside help or interferes in the match, like those two, will immediately lose by default... and automatically take the salary cut!" Nobunaga stated darkly.

'Waah...! He's angry now_!_?' All of the men thought, sweating nervously. The only thing scarier than when the young lord was in such a suspiciously good mood, was when he was angry. 'We kind of want to fight her, but it's kind of hard to ask now...'

"Your turn now, Kasane!" Ayako said, smiling cheerfully.

"That was amazing, Ayako-chan! You've gotten even faster!" Kasane said excitedly. "Can we have spar sometime_!_?"

"Sure, but I think Gorouza has some other opponents lined up for you first. Have fun!" Ayako said as she walked back up the stage to stand next to the gong again.

"Hey, Gorouza, can I fight three people too_!_?" Kasane asked excitedly.

"Is that alright, my Lord?" Gorouza asked.

"Yes." Nobunaga said. It seemed the promise of a good show had helped to return his good mood, because he was smirking out of amusement now.

"Ah, this is the other one I told you to watch out for." Kawajiri said as the match began and Kasane began fighting three men holding spears with her wooden sword. She wasn't as fast as Ayako, but she was fighting beautifully, blocking their every attack.

"Wh-Who's that?" Shinsuke asked, impressed.

"Kusanagi Kasane, or so I've heard. Seems our lord personally picked her out." Kawajiri said.

SLAM! Kasane struck one of the men with her wooden sword, knocking him to the ground.

"I wonder where she came from? Her background is completely unknown." Kawajiri said.

THUD. SLAM! CRACK!

"Aaah!" Another one of Kasane's opponents cried, as he too was defeated. Shinsuke and Koheita were sweating nervously as they watched the intense match. Ayako's match had been so one-sided, and over so quickly, that they barely had a chance to get into it before it was over.

WHAM!

"Ghg!" The third and last opponent grunted in pain as he too fell to the ground, defeated. The two boys paled slightly with shock. Just how did their lord keep finding such insanely strong women?

"Phew—" Kasane said, sighing as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"She's strong! Just who is she..._!_?" The other men shouted, cheering.

"Yeah! I'll fight her next!" One man said.

"No, me first!" Another yelled excitedly.

"Eh...? No one wanted to fight me... Kasane sure is popular!" Ayako said, smiling wryly.

"Of course." Nobunaga said. "After all, that girl is normal, and you're an Onihime. They're too nervous to ask you."

"I blame you for that. You're the one who made that stupid nickname catch on!" Ayako said, crossing her arms. "Next thing I know, you'll be handing me an oni mask and turning me into your mascot or something."

"Hmph." Nobunaga said, amused at the idea. He smirked devilishly at her. Ayako sweat dropped.

'Oh, great... me and my big mouth! He's definitely going to try it, isn't he...?' Ayako thought, chagrined. She decided to keep her mouth shut and watch the matches before she could dig herself into an even deeper hole.

"Hmph. We've... got that quarrel to settle from back at Narumi." Kuranosuke said to Kasane as he stepped forward to challenge her. "I'll defeat you, and use you as a stepping stone on my way up! I don't like you at all! I'll knock you out!" He said, pulling out his guns.

"I'll take all comers!" Kasane said, grinning and holding her wooden sword at the ready. "No way... I'll lose to you!"


	16. Beware Of Weirdos Bearing Gifts

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_Hmph. We've... got that quarrel to settle from back at Narumi." Kuranosuke said to Kasane as he stepped forward to challenge her. "I'll defeat you, and use you as a stepping stone on my way up! I don't like you at all! I'll knock you out!" He said, pulling out his guns._

"_I'll take all comers!" Kasane said, grinning and holding her wooden sword at the ready. "No way... I'll lose to you!"_

* * *

><p>"Good luck girl! Beat that career runt! Beat Kuranosuke! Beat him!" The other men yelled, cheering for her and booing Kuranosuke.<p>

"What_!_? You're rooting for me?" Kasane asked, surprised, blushing slightly.

"Shut up, you spectators! Quiet!" Kuranosuke yelled back at them, a vein mark pulsing on his forehead.

"Ouch! Instant rejection by the crowd, huh?" Ayako observed.

"Kura doesn't have any friends." Inuchiyo said, smiling, and laughing sillily.

"Yeah..." Gorouza said, sighing. "Oh, what are you doing down here, Ayako? I thought you were going to watch from the platform stage with our lord?"

"I planned to, but I think I accidentally gave Nobunaga more ammunition to harass me with, so I came down here, where it was safe, before I could do any more damage, it's fun hanging out with you guys." Ayako said, smiling. "But I feel kind of sorry for Kuranosuke... Should we cheer for him?"

"I don't need your damn pity, you demon midget!" Kuranosuke yelled rudely at her.

"And the mystery of why you're so unpopular has been solved~!" Ayako said sarcastically. "In that case... _Go, Kasane! Make him eat dirt~! No mercy~!_" Ayako cheered, smiling ever so innocently.

"Uwah... That girl can say some pretty frightening things with such a pleasant smile..." Koheita said, sweat dropping.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Kawajiri said, laughing wryly.

"Begin!" Gorouza said, announcing the start of the fight. Everyone cheered excitedly.

"But how... is Kuranosuke going to fight her with a gun?" Shinsuke asked, fidgeting excitedly as they watched the match.

"He can't fire at that range..." Koheita said.

"Kura doesn't like bullets and gunpowder." Inuchiyo said, grinning.

"Ehhh_!_? Then seriously, how's he going to fight_!_?" Shinsuke asked.

"Hmph, that guy's personality might be bad, but he's good at using his head." Ayako said as Kuranosuke blocked Kasane's attack with his guns, and jumped back, putting space between them.

"Huh...?" Shinsuke said, confused.

"'Sasara' is a gun that Kura modified himself." Inuchiyo explained. Kuranosuke twirled the guns in his hand and hit a switch, causing a new, hidden handle to pop out.

SNAP! CLICK!

"_!_?" Kasane said, surprised. 'Now there's another handhold..._!_?' She thought. Kuranosuke gripped the new handles, wielding his guns like a pair of tonfas, and charged at Kasane.

FWISH! WHAM!

Kuranosuke slammed his 'tonfa' hard into Kasane's wooden sword.

"...!" Kasane gasped when a crack appeared in her wooden sword.

"Her sword's cracked..._!_? How exactly did he do that?" Shinsuke yelled in amazement.

"It's because of how he hit her. He struck her sword hard and at an angle with the part of his gun's barrel that is made out of metal, so it's naturally harder than the wood that her sword is made out of, The vibrations from the impact helped increase the damage, so what should've just been a dent was amplified to be a large crack." Ayako explained nonchalantly, like it was obvious. The men all sweat dropped.

'She's not only strong, she's smart too...' They all thought warily.

"I can use this however I want. Sorry, but this is my 'win.'" Kuranosuke said, grinning triumphantly.

"...!" Kasane said, frowning at Kuranosuke. She set her jaw and squared her shoulders, more determined to win than ever.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

CLACK.

"Hmmm~?" Mysterious man wearing a bandana on his head, bandage strip across his nose, and a huge wooden box on his back, that just happened to be passing by, said curiously as he passed by the tournament and heard the men cheering. There was a group of peasants peeking through the gaps in the banners that had been hung as dividing screens. It wasn't that the peasants were forbidden from watching, it was just to keep distractions for the fighters down to a minimum, and also so that the peasants wouldn't feel like they were being forced to watch. They had their own work to do, after all. Besides, it always made watching something more interesting when it seemed more secretive, right? "This is one big crowd. Is it a show?" Mystery man asked the peasants.

"Yes, it looks like Oda's young vassals are having sparring matches. It's quite interesting." An older man told him. "Seems like the master of Nagoya proposed it. I heard there are two girls in with them, too. Look, one of them is fighting right now." The older man pointed to Kasane.

"A girl..._!_?" Mystery man asked excitedly, blushing, as he went into 'hottie alert' mode. He watched as Kasane charged at Kuranosuke and attacked, but Kuranosuke managed to block the blow, and her wooden sword slammed into his gun.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Whoa! Those two are amazing! Neither of them is giving an inch!" The men cheered as they watched the intense mini battle between Kasane and Kuranosuke.

"Damn you...! You don't have a career or salary, so just give in already!" Kuranosuke yelled at Kasane.

"I've—got a promise to Masamune and Kotetsu! I won't give up in a fight!" Kasane yelled back, determined to keep going. They were both starting to tire out after fighting non-stop for so long. Their weapons clashed once more, grinding together as the two determined teenagers leaned on them, putting as much weight as they could on their opponent.

"Hurry and yield!" Kuranosuke growled.

"You yield!" Kasane growled back. Their eyes were veiled in shadow, their fatigue was starting to darken their moods, and a threatening aura swirled around the two of them as they glared at each other.

"It's become a match of the wills, huh...? They're both too determined and stubborn to give in..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. She knew that she would probably be the same if she were in that situation, so she couldn't really say anything against it.

"And why are you so worried about your 'career'? You can't make any friends like that." Kasane said, her arms starting to tremble.

"None of your business!" Kuranosuke yelled, irritated, as a vein mark pulsed on his forehead.

"Kura's got those older brothers, so he doesn't like losing." Inuchiyo said innocently, grinning.

"Brothers...?" Kasane and Ayako asked.

"Quit it! Shut up, stupid dog!" Kuranosuke shouted at Inuchiyo.

"He got mad at me..." Inuchiyo cried, pouting in his own little corner of woe.

"There, there." Ayako said softly as she patted him supportively on the back.

"Tch! ... It's true, my brothers are renowned fighters." Kuranosuke admitted grudgingly. "Their bravery at the battle under Lord Nobuhide's command has named them the 'pride' of the Sassa clan. I, on the other hand, am a failure of a third son who's at odds with the head of the family... That's why I... will rise higher with my own two hands—" Kuranosuke twirled his gun 'tonfas' around in his hands again and charged at Kasane. "My lord will recognize me... and advance me—" Kasane braced herself and gripped her sword as Kuranosuke rushed towards her. "And I'll leave the name 'Narimasa'... behind!"

_WHAM!_

Kuranosuke slammed his gun into Kasane's wooden sword so hard, that she lost her balance, and started to run backwards, as Kuranosuke pushed forward, sending the two of them barreling into a nearby wooden watch tower.

_SLAM!_

"They hit the tower!" Inuchiyo yelled.

"Kuranosuke! Kasane!" Gorouza yelled.

"Are you guys okay_!_?" Ayako yelled.

"Oww..." They both groaned as they rubbed their aching heads, and the dust started to settle.

"But... won't your brothers support you...?" Kasane asked, still a little dazed from banging her head into the tower.

"Huh_!_? How would you know?" Kuranosuke said, irritated, as he rubbed his head.

"There's still a lot I don't understand about this era, but... but... I'm a sister myself." Kasane said, smiling and rubbing the back of her head. "I understand. The two of them are so cute, I can't help it." Kuranosuke stared at Kasane, his eyes widened slightly. He turned away, feeling a little embarrassed, hiding his blush.

"... Hump, like hell." Kuranosuke said. "A 'sister,' huh... geez..." He whipped his head around to glare at her. "Don't—go and compare an idiot like you to my brothers! You're nothing alike! Nothing!" Kuranosuke hissed angrily at her, like a cat who'd been pet the wrong way.

"Oh, so he _does_ get along with them, then. Look at that brother complex go... defending them and everything." Ayako deadpanned.

"No good, huh? Honestly, he can't hold his temper at all..." Gorouza said, sweat dropping as he smiled wryly.

"So, who won?" Inuchiyo asked.

"Didn't they both sort of self-destruct at the end?" Ayako asked as Kuranosuke continued to rant his cheeks were flushed red from embarrassment and from all the yelling he was doing.

"I mean, you're—" Kuranosuke yelled as the tower that they had just run into began to wobble.

"Eh..._!_?" Ayako said, realizing something was off. The ropes that had been tying the support beams together had become to loose, and a few of the beams slipped out of place, compromising the integrity of the whole structure. 'Damn, that tower was here long before I set this stuff up... it must have gotten too old and weakened over time!' She thought. Ayako started running towards her endangered friends. "I'm borrowing this!" She told one of the men as she grabbed his katana, and drew it from its sheathe.

"Hey! He yelled indignantly.

"Watch out!" Ayako yelled as the whole tower started to fall with a huge clatter.

"The tower—!" Shinsuke yelled in alarm. Time seemed to slow down as they all watched, horrified, as the tower started crashing down, Kasane and Kuranosuke were frozen in place below it, too stunned to move, as Ayako made a desperately mad dash towards them, holding the 'borrowed' katana.

_SLAM!_

Just as Kasane and Kuranosuke had covered their heads, expecting to be buried under the fallen tower, the mystery man with the huge box on his back, had managed to run in between them and the falling tower. The large wooden box on his back had blocked the impact of the falling debris, and some spears and swords had somehow popped out of the box, acting as a net to block even more of the debris.

"Mind running for it? Miss?" He asked Kasane, grinning with his eyes closed. He couldn't keep holding all that weight up by himself forever. A flash of gold flew by them as Ayako dashed up to them and jumped up, slicing the pieces of large, wooden, debris that had fallen into smaller pieces, causing them roll off of him and fall harmlessly to the ground around the mystery man and her friends. Everyone stared, frozen in place, in a combination of shock, awe, and amazement at what had just happened.

"... Wh—Huh..." Kasane said, breathing heavily as she tried to calm down enough to figure out which question she even wanted to ask.

"Phew! That was a close one! Nice save there!" The mystery man said, smiling at Ayako as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Ah, no! I should be thanking you! I never would've reached them in time, if it weren't for you... Thank you!" Ayako said, bowing.

"Who are you..._!_?" Kasane blurted out at the man, finally able to form a complete sentence in her state of shock. The man stared intensely at Kasane.

"... Eh_!_?" Kasane said nervously, flinching in surprise at the man's intensity.

"Just who is this guy...?" Kuranosuke asked darkly, already suspicious of the man. The mystery man blushed.

"H—Hey~ Miss~!" Mystery man suddenly called out to Kasane in a singsong voice as he chased after her, the weapons still sticking out of his box. He had a silly grin on his face as he chased her.

"Eeek! He's a weirdo!" Kasane cried, paling slightly as she ran from him.

"Waaait~! Why are you running_!_?" Mystery man asked Kasane as he continued to chased her.

"Y—You're asking me why_!_?" Kasane asked incredulously, glancing back over her shoulder. "Eep!" He was right behind her. "Eeek!" Kasane yelled as she stepped on the gas, trying to lose her new 'friend.'

"I don't know anyone who wouldn't run..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. 'Oh, great... another weird one... well, at least he doesn't seem to mean any harm...' Ayako thought.

"Are you well, Kuranosuke?" Gorouza asked.

"Tch! To think that weirdo saved me, of all people!" Kuranosuke muttered, irritated.

"Hey_!_?" Ayako yelled indignantly. "Maybe I _won't_ help you next time, then."

"I didn't mean you! I was talking about that weirdo chasing Kasane!" Kuranosuke yelled back at her, vein mark throbbing on his head.

"Oh, right... I guess I should go stop him. Kasane looks kind of scared..." Ayako said. "Hey, you! Cut it out!" Ayako said boldly, as she ran after them, and pulled up alongside the man.

"Oooh~! Now that I look closer, you're a girl too, aren't you_!_?" The mystery man said excitedly.

"..._Too..!_?" Ayako yelled, realizing he had thought that she was a guy this whole time. "Of course I'm a girl! What else would I be_!_?"

"Would you believe I thought you were a bishounen~?" Mystery man said without any ill intentions. Ayako froze solid, white with shock.

"Bi–Bi_shounen...!_?" Ayako cried, clearly distressed. "He seriously thought I was a guy... I knew it... no one sees me as a woman...! It must be because the old man raised me to be such a tomboy! I'm a girl,_ dammit!_" Ayako mumbled gloomily as she sat on the ground, hugging her knees as a comical river of tears flowed down her face. She was in her own little corner of woe now. Since she had been raised as a boy, despite being a true girly-girl deep down, Ayako was overly sensitive when it came to comments like that.

"A-Ayako..." Kasane said, sweat dropping. "Are you alright...?"

THUD! The spear slammed into a pole that was between Kasane and the man, just barely missing hitting the weirdo's nose. Kuranosuke had grabbed Inuchiyo's spear and hurled it at the man chasing Kasane.

"Eep!" Kasane yelped in surprise.

"Hold it, you!" Kuranosuke shouted at the mysterious weirdo.

"Hey! That's my spear!" Inuchiyo huffed angrily at him.

"Just who are you_!_?" Kuranosuke demanded, ignoring Inuchiyo. "Where did you—"

"Wow, lucky~! So, the two of you really are girls!" The mystery weirdo said to the two girls, completely ignoring Kuranosuke's existence. "Are you two okay? You weren't injured, were you? Does anything hurt?" He asked, not realizing the emotional trauma he had just inflicted on Ayako.

"Y-Yeah..." Kasane said, sweat dropping. 'Doesn't he have a lot of stuff sticking out of his back...?' She thought nervously.

"Hey! I'm...!" Kuranosuke yelled.

"Oh! Did my case scare you_!_?" The man asked Kasane, still ignoring Kuranosuke, as the weapons sticking out of the box on his back started to slide back inside on their own. He smiled brightly and rubbed the back of his head. "But you know, when you're traveling around, like me, you've got to watch out for thieves and bandits, right? I use it to protect myself."

"You bastard, I'm talking to you...!" Kuranosuke yelled, clenching his fist.

"Do you know about these?" The man asked Kasane, _still_ ignoring him, and holding up a screw. "It's called a 'screw.' You use them to make rifles and stuff. Amazing, right?" He pointed to the box on his back. "This thing is made up of screws and gears and springs all cleverly combined together."

"Cut it out...!" Kuranosuke yelled angrily, vein mark throbbing, as he stepped toward the mystery man and leaned in closer to yell at him.

"And if you pull this cord—" The man said, yanking a cord, still totally oblivious to Kuranosuke.

BONK! THUD!

A bunch of poles with cloth tied onto the ends popped out, and socked Kuranosuke right in the kisser. The force of the blow knocked Kuranosuke's head back, and up into Inuchiyo's chin, causing a chain reaction that ended with both guys lying on the ground. The three stooges would've been proud.

"The weapons inside will... Oh, huh?" The mystery man said, stopping his explanation when he heard two thuds.

"Ku—Kuranosuke_!_? And Inuchiyo!" Kasane yelled, surprised and concerned. Ayako couldn't say anything. She held her sides as she bent over, shaking, trying not to laugh. She was concerned for her friends, of course—but the whole thing was just too funny. Well, at least she had come out of her funk, thanks to that.

"... You bastard..." Kuranosuke said darkly as he and Inuchiyo held their aching faces. "Who the hell are you_!_?" He yelled.

"Oh?" The mystery man said, smiling, but as he turned, he seemed to deflate slightly, releasing a little steam as he looked at Kuranosuke, no longer blushing.

'Ah, something came out...' Kasane and Ayako thought, sweat dropping. They already knew this guy wasn't normal, but that was just weird.

"You okay, Kasane?" Ayako whispered seeing how disturbed Kasane was too. She was still a little upset about the whole being mistaken for a guy thing, but she decided she should set it aside for now and worry about it later. Ayako decided that the first thing she was going to do, once she got her salary from Nobunaga, was to buy herself a more feminine outfit and stop cross-dressing.

"Ayako..." Kasane said, tearing up a little bit in relief as she hugged Ayako. "It was so weird, I didn't know what I should do...!" Ayako smiled wryly and sighed as she patted Kasane on the back in a 'there, there' motion as they listened to what the mystery man had to say for himself.

"... Who am I?" The mystery man said. "Just a passing arms dealer." He said, grinning.

"Arms dealer?" Ayako asked. 'I guess that explains that weird 'box of doom' on his back then...' She thought.

"Why would you stop by here, then_!_?" Kuranosuke demanded, totally suspicious of him.

"Oh no, it's just like I said. I was passing through. Then, I saw that the watchtower looked like it was going to fall on her. I just jumped out without considering my place." Mystery man said.

"... Is that really all? Then why were you wandering around the castle grounds in the first place_!_?" Kuranosuke asked, furrowing his brow in distrust.

"Wow, you're really distrustful!" Mystery man said, sweat dropping. "I sell weapons, you see. I heard Oda's vassals were all sparring today. I thought you guys might want something—"

"My, that's incredible." Kawajiri said as he came up beside Kuranosuke and Inuchiyo.

"Lord Kawajiri." Kuranosuke said, slightly surprised.

"_We_ weren't even informed that anything was going on here today. So, there's no way you could've known, yes?" Kawajiri said.

"He's right. It was hard keeping it a secret too." Ayako said. The mystery man twitched guiltily.

"My, my... soldiers of the Oda family are really good, just as you'd expect." Mystery man said, his eyes hidden in shadow as he grinned. The other men surrounded him, pointing their spears at the strange man. "I was planning to excuse myself without causing a fuss, but... since I'm surrounded, I guess I've got no choice."


	17. A family Man

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

[Narration]

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_My, my... soldiers of the Oda family are really good, just as you'd expect." Mystery man said, his eyes hidden in shadow as he grinned. The other men surrounded him, pointing their spears at the strange man. "I was planning to excuse myself without causing a fuss, but... since I'm surrounded, I guess I've got no choice."_

* * *

><p>'Who is this guy...<em>!<em>?' Kasane thought, gulping nervously as she aimed her wooden sword at him. '... An enemy...? An ally...?' Mystery man gripped the straps that were holding the box of doom on his back... and suddenly slipped them off, drooping the dangerous box to the ground as he fell to his knees, prostrating himself before them. He was bowing so deeply, his forehead was hitting the dirt.

"... Huh?" They all said, sweat dropping as they stared at him.

"I swear that you don't need to be suspicious of me_!_? Please find it in your hearts to let me go!" Mystery man cried, tears streaming down his face as he begged for forgiveness. Ayako sweat dropped.

"—Huh? What?" Kasane said, confused. What were they supposed to do now?

"..." Kuranosuke said. He looked disappointed that he couldn't just get payback for being ignored and hit before.

"Wh-What should we do, Lord Kawajiri?" Shinsuke asked, confused and flustered. The man was obviously a suspicious intruder, but it wouldn't be honorable to attack someone while they were unarmed and begging so earnestly to be spared.

"Hmm, this is troubling..." Kawajiri said thoughtfully.

"What's all the fuss about?" Nobunaga demanded as he walked up to them.

"Ah, my Lord!" Kasane said when she saw Nobunaga.

"My Lord!" Kawajiri said, greeting him.

'Well, he sure took his sweet time getting here...' Ayako thought. She was sure Nobunaga would've come sooner. "Hey, it looks like we have an uninvited guest." She told him.

"I apologize for the ruckus. This guy here... calls himself an arms dealer, but he's been acting suspicious." Kawajiri said.

"Yeah, he thought Onihime was a man." Kuranosuke added, unable to resist getting in one last jab at Ayako for all the times she had teased him. Ayako twitched, clearly upset.

"Why must you always say one thing too many..._!_?" Ayako growled, glaring at him.

"L-Lo...! Lord...!" Mystery man stuttered, trembling. "Lord Nobunagaaaa! Waaaaah!" He cried out in relief as he suddenly launched himself at the young lord.

"Eh_!_?" Ayako said in surprise. Nobunaga frowned slightly as the man flew at him.

THUNK.

Nobunaga had stuck his foot out at the last second, causing the mystery man to ram his own face into the sole of Nobunaga's sandal. Mystery man landed with a thud and slid a few inches away from the young lord when Nobunaga pushed him away with his foot. Kasane flinched in surprise, and the others just stared, stunned. Ayako shook her head at the two men. Nobunaga had a weird way of showing affection...

"What_!_? Wh-What'd you do that for_!_?" Kasane asked, shocked by how he had just treated the man.

"Why are you so surprised...?" Ayako asked, sweat dropping. She thought Kasane had gotten used to Nobunaga's brusque behavior by now.

"...Hmph." Nobunaga said, but then he grinned. "It's been awhile, 'Monkey.'"

'Monkey..._!_?' Ayako thought, surprised. '...He couldn't be...'

"... Y-Yeah...!" Mystery man said, smiling wryly, despite the footprint on his forehead. He knelt respectfully before Nobunaga. "Owari's very own Toukichirou... has just returned home!" He said.

"Huh...?" Kasane said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Whaaat_!_?" Kasane yelled, surprised.

"Wow, nice reaction, Kasane! Really energetic." Ayako said, giving her a thumbs up from where she was stirring the pot of cooking rice. It had been around lunchtime when Toukichirou showed up, so they had decided to take a break from the tournament to eat. You can't fight as well on an empty stomach, after all. Everyone was starting to line up, eager to get their delicious lunch, but Kasane and Gorouza were still talking to Toukichirou.

To be exact, I'm the arms dealer and 'informant,' Toukichirou." Toukichirou said, blushing a little. A few of the other men were staring at them as they talked.

"I see, so you gather intelligence for our lord. Then, it's no wonder that no one knows you. Is your head okay, where were you hit?" Gorouza said, smiling radiantly. Toukichirou flinched as Gorouza's beautiful smile pierced his heart. He blushed a deep red.

"Oh no, it's my fault! There's no need to worry! When I see a pretty girl, I just can't stop myself~" Toukichirou said quickly, wanting to reassure the pretty 'girl' in front of him. Ayako, who had finished cooking and was coming over to let the others know that lunch was ready, twitched when she heard that. It was obvious that Toukichirou thought Gorouza was a girl.

"Should we clue him in...?" Kasane whispered to Ayako. She flinched in surprise when she saw that Ayako's eyes were cast in shadow, giving away her dark mood.

"_Let him rot._ It's the monkey's own fault for not being able to tell the difference between a 'bishounen' and a real girl." Ayako said darkly. She was probably going to hold the whole 'bishounen' thing against him for a while. "I don't care if one of my direct ancestors was an illegitimate granddaughter of his..."

'Wow... Ayako's scary when she's mad...' Kasane thought. "No, no the more important thing right now is... If you take 'Toukichirou,' 'Nobunaga,' and the nickname 'Monkey'... Then this guy is Toyotomi Hideyoshi, isn't he_!_?' Kasane thought, while Toukichirou grinned innocently at them. Kasane turned blue with shock as this revelation set in, and wobbled.

"Ka-Kasane_!_?" Gorouza said, worried when she started to fall.

"Ah! Miss_!_?" Toukichirou yelled, also concerned, but then Ayako caught Kasane before she actually fell and helped her sit up again.

'I guess she just realized who we were talking too...' Ayako thought, sweat dropping.

'Nobunaga alone is crazy enough, but now we've got Hideyoshi too..._!_? And Ayako is related to him..._!_?' Kasane thought nervously. '... But I—don't know a thing about it_!_! I'm only average in history! I always excel in gym class, though! Aaah!' Kasane screamed internally, feeling overwhelmed as she turned away from her friends and held her head as she sweated nervously.

"!" Gorouza and Toukichirou said, concerned by her strange behavior.

"It's alright, she's just nervous after meeting someone new..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. The two guys seemed to buy it, because they relaxed. Gorouza glanced off to the side when he felt an ominous presence nearby.

"And here... I thought we'd gotten over being distrustful of each other." Gorouza said, sighing in disappointment when he saw it was Kuranosuke who was emitting the menacing aura. He was glaring suspiciously at Toukichirou. "Why are you acting so menacing?"

"Shuddap, leave me alone! I don't like that slit-eyed jerk!" Kuranosuke growled. Inuchiyo was sitting just behind him, looking at Toukichirou's 'box of doom' like an excited puppy that had just found a new toy.

"Hey, hey! I wanna do this too! I'll play with it till I can imitate you!" Inuchiyo said excitedly.

"Sure, go ahead." Toukichirou said. "Ah, but if you aren't careful, you could get h..."

WHAM!

Toukichirou had tried to warn him, but Inuchiyo pulled on a cord that was hanging from the box, and another padded pole, like the ones they'd been hit with earlier, shot out and hit Kuranosuke in the face... again.

WHAM!

"What are you doing, you dumb dog!" Kuranosuke yelled angrily as he hit Inuchiyo with a mean right hook.

"Gah!" Inuchiyo cried, more out of surprise than pain.

"Hahaha! Our lord's vassals are always so lively." Toukichirou said, laughing in amusement.

"They're comedic geniuses." Ayako said, stifling a laugh. Kasane smiled wryly and sweat dropped.

'Is that where Ayako gets her strange sense of humor from...?' Kasane wondered. 'They both found someone getting hit funny...' Ayako suddenly sensed someone watching her. Their eyes were practically boring a hole into the back of her head. Ayako turned around to see that it was Nobunaga.

"Ah!" Ayako said, suddenly remembering that he had asked her to bring him his portion once she had finished cooking. "I'll be back in a bit guys, I forgot to serve our lord's lunch!" She said as she floored it and starting getting Nobunaga's lunch ready. He was not someone you wanted to keep waiting—especially when he was hungry and grumpy.

"Oh, that's right! You saved me back there, and I haven't thanked you!" Kasane said, suddenly remembering that she had also forgotten to do something. "Thank you!"

"It was nothing! You can't let girls get hurt." Toukichirou said, smiling and waving her worries away.

"—But if you know our lord, shouldn't you have just come on in openly?" Kasane said.

"How could I! Even if you asked it of me, it would be difficult. My social standing is way down there. I couldn't just walk into a group of vassals like these." Toukichirou said humbly, smiling in a self-depreciating manner.

"Speaking of which... Hid—I mean, Toukichirou, you said you're an informant?" Kasane asked curiously.

"Yeah, but I was born into a peasant family. My house is in a village in Owari. It was pretty tough living, and everyday I worried if we'd have enough food to feed my mom and siblings. My this is embarrassing." Toukichirou said, blushing and rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

"Why? I don't think working hard to support your family is anything to be ashamed of. Where I come from, we don't have nobility. We're all human, aren't we." Ayako said as she returned from feeding the hungry beast—A.K.A Nobunaga. She glanced over at Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke... who were still fighting with each other. Gorouza was keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn't get too rambunctious.

"Thanks, Miss." Toukichirou said. He smiled gratefully at Ayako for her understanding and encouragement.

"What about your dad...? Couldn't he do something...?" Kasane asked a little hesitantly, wondering if he had lost his father, like she had lost both of her parents.

"... Since I wasn't his son, he didn't like me. My mom worked from dawn to dusk, until her hands were chapped. I left home hoping to be able do something about that. So, I'm going to work until I drop, so that one day I'll be able to give the family I left behind good meals to eat." Toukichirou said, smiling.

"I'm sure you will." Ayako said, smiling affectionately. 'Maybe my great grandpa to the nth power here... isn't so bad after all...' Ayako thought. She noticed that Kasane was trembling. "Kasa—" Kasane suddenly began bawling her eyes out, deeply touched by Toukichirou's story. The others flinched in surprise. Inuchiyo and Gorouza looked concerned, while Kuranosuke looked a little disturbed, wondering about her mental health.

"Kasane_!_?" Gorouza said, surprised by the sudden outburst.

"D-Do you're best_!_! You'll succeed for sureee!" Kasane cried as she grabbed Toukichirou by the shoulders.

"Yeah! Whatever you say, Miss!" Toukichirou said carelessly and cheerfully, not the least bit bothered by the waterfall of tears falling from Kasane's eyes. The others sweat dropped.

"He's actually a pretty easy going guy, isn't he...?" Ayako said, smiling wryly. 'I can't figure out if he's smart or slow... come to think of it... people used to tell me the same thing about myself back home...' She thought.


	18. Love Is Like A Glass Door

Continuation of the quote used in this chapters title: "Love is like a glass door... sometimes you don't see it, and it smacks you right in the face." ~ writer anonymous

* * *

><p><strong>Warning: This is based off a manga called <strong>_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_D-Do you're best! You'll succeed for sureee!" Kasane cried as she grabbed him by the shoulders._

"_Yeah! Whatever you say, Miss!" Toukichirou said carelessly and cheerfully, not the least bit bothered by the waterfall of tears falling from Kasane's eyes. The others sweat dropped._

"_He's actually a pretty easy going guy, isn't he...?" Ayako said, smiling wryly. 'I can't figure out if he's smart or slow... come to think of it... people used to tell me the same thing about myself back home...' She thought._

* * *

><p>"I've got two brothers of my own. Though we're apart right now... I'll get home someday for sure...!" Kasane said determinedly through her tears.<p>

"Is that so! I'm sorry to hear that!" Toukichirou said, surprised, but sympathetic. "... By the way, Miss, just where did you come from?" He asked curiously. Kasane froze, no longer shedding any tears. She looked like a dear caught in the headlights.

'Ah!' Kasane gasped internally when she realized that Gorouza, Inuchiyo, and Kuranosuke were staring at her, waiting to hear what she said. "For some reason... I feel like everyone behind me is also staring at me...!" Kasane whispered to herself, thinking out loud. Ayako heard her, though, and glanced be hind them. She sweat dropped.

"That's because they are..." Ayako whispered to Kasane. Even Nobunaga was staring at them from where he was sitting in his power chair, but instead of staring suspiciously at them, like the others, Nobunaga was smirking slightly, like someone would when they were being amused by a good show. 'Well, at least he's forgiven me for almost forgetting to bring him lunch...' Ayako thought.

"?" Toukichirou said, wondering what the two girls were whispering about. Kasane clenched her fist as she worked up the courage to say where she was from.

'But... of course, they're going to say I'm lying.' Kasane thought. "I'm..." Kasane said nervously. She felt Ayako place a comforting and supportive hand on her shoulder. Kasane glanced at her. Ayako nodded, and Kasane could see that Ayako had her back, whatever she decided to say. 'I can't be discouraged if they don't believe me!' Kasane thought, her determination renewed. "—I'm from an era just a little bit ahead of this one!" Kasane shouted before she lost her nerve again.

"Me too. I'm also from the future." Ayako added. She wasn't going to let Kasane go through whatever happened next alone. All the men stared at the two girls, shocked and stunned. Their blank stares turned into skeptical ones as they stared at them and began to murmur among themselves. Kasane sighed and sweat dropped under their piercing stares.

'Even if we say that... They aren't going to believe me...' Kasane thought, smiling wryly. Ayako sighed and glanced at Nobunaga. He was grinning smugly down at her.

'Well, at least _someone_ is enjoying this...' Ayako thought, feeling a little chagrined.

"Oh~! I get it~!" Toukichirou said suddenly, smiling, as though he had an epiphany. The two girls stared at him, surprised that some one—other that Nobunaga—was truly willing to believe them.

"..." Kasane and Ayako said as they stared at Toukichirou in silence. While everyone else was too busy staring at the stunned Kasane and smiling Toukichirou to notice, Ayako glanced at Nobunaga, sending him a look that asked 'Is he being serious or just messing with us...?' Nobunaga smiled—actually _smiled,_ not smirked— at her, and gave her a look that said 'Just watch.' So, she did. Ayako slowly turned back to look at Toukichirou, a little stunned by Nobunaga's smile. 'Crap... I definitely have a crush on him...!' Ayako thought nervously as she stopped herself from blushing.

"... Huh?" Kasane asked, still staring blankly at Toukichirou.

"I get it!" Toukichirou said, smiling genuinely and repeating himself.

"..." Kasane said, staring at him in a new light as his words sunk in. Ayako smiled when she saw how sincere Toukichirou's belief in them was.

"I see... 'You get it!' Thank you!" Ayako said, grinning and clapping Toukichirou on the shoulder affectionately. 'As expected of my ancestor!' Ayako thought proudly. Behind them, Nobunaga's eyes narrowed slightly. He thought Ayako was acting far too affectionate towards someone she had only just met.

"Huh_!_? What do you get_!_?" Kasane yelled, confused at how easy that had been.

"Hm? Did I say something wrong?" Toukichirou asked. He suddenly grinned extra sillily. "Oh? Then were you joking?" He asked, laughing good-naturedly at the 'joke.'

"No, we weren't joking." Ayako said, sweat dropping.

"It's true! You didn't say anything wrong." Kasane said nervously, not wanting to lose one of their few believers. "But why do you believe us_!_?" Toukichirou smiled and held one finger up to his face.

"That'd be... because nothing about you makes sense." Toukichirou told Kasane.

"_!_?" Kasane said, surprised. Ayako nodded her head sagely in an 'I see' kind of way.

"For instance, look at your clothes. That kimono of yours, plus your split skirt, socks, and sandals..." Toukichirou said, referring to Kasane's school uniform and her tennis shoes. "I can't think of any materials in this country that match what they're made out of. And those metal trappings on your kimono, I haven't come across anything like them in my dealings with other provinces."

"Oh, the zipper?" Kasane thought out loud as she looked and Gorouza looked more closely at it.

"Plus the strange swordsmanship you use—" Toukichirou said to Kasane before addressing the other men. "You saw it when you fought her, right? Like a samurai who fights like an armored swordsman. There's no style like it." Then men looked at each other thought fully. It was true. Toukichirou turned to Kasane again. "Your swordsmanship is foreign. Nothing in this era can explain you. Plus, the golden-haired miss also admitted to having suspicious origins. If you were actually going to lie to us about your origins, then I'm sure you would've made up something more believable, right? So, shouldn't the fact that you believe what you're saying be the best reason to make us believe?"

"Wow...!" Kasane said, amazed.

"That's pretty sketchy... going with that reason, huh..." The other men murmured amongst themselves.

'That way of thinking... there's no denying that we're related. The similarities are little unnerving, considering how far apart we are, generation wise..." Ayako thought.

"Th-Th-Thank you! For a second time!" Kasane said, gripping his hands firmly in her own. She was touched to the extreme.

"Oh no, my pleasure. Now I feel awkward." Toukichirou said, smiling and blushing while rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, they're handing out rice!" Someone yelled when they saw that the second shift of cooks, after Ayako, had finished making more food.

"Food!" Inuchiyo yelled excitedly and grabbed Kuranosuke, pulling the other boy along with him as he ran to get food.

"Gah! What're you doing_!_?" Kuranosuke yelled indignantly as he was dragged along for the ride.

"We should join them. Our lord is being gracious." Gorouza said, smiling.

"Yeah! I am hungry!" Kasane said cheerfully.

"I'm good. I had a little earlier while I was cooking." Ayako said, smiling happily now that everything had returned to normal... well, as normal as things could get for two time travelers in the Sengoku era.

"Well then, I'll be around." Toukichirou said as he stood up and put his box of doom back on to carry it.

"Do you want some rice balls for the road?" Ayako offered.

"No, thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine~! You're gonna make a good wife for someone someday." Toukichirou said cheerfully. Ayako blushed, thinking of a certain someone she wouldn't mind doing that for. She felt someone staring a hole into the back of her head. She turned to see that it was Nobunaga.

'Speak of the devil...' Ayako thought. He stood up and left, indicating that she should follow him. Ayako sweat dropped.

'What did I do this time...?' Ayako wondered nervously. Nobunaga did not look pleased. "Well, it was nice meeting you. Take care of yourself!" Ayako said as she left to follow the young lord.

"Bye bye~!" Toukichirou said, smiling as he turned to leave. He might seem simple to most people, but Toukichirou had caught the silent exchanges between Ayako and Nobunaga earlier and just now. It looked like something 'interesting' was going on between the two of them, whether they realized it or not.

"Ah! Hid... Toukichirou! Um, really, thank you!" Kasane said again, stopping him. "I... don't know why I came here, or how I can get home, but... It really cheered me up that you believe me!" Toukichirou smiled at her.

"It's pretty important... why you're here now, and what you can do while you're here, don't you think? For food, for career, or for your family. Each person has their own reason, and without it, they couldn't survive. Where you were born doesn't matter, you know?" Toukichirou said. "If you want to survive, all you can do is spar over there with the rest of the people like us. This era of ours is just that tough. If there's anything bothering you three, I'll come zooming right over~! Let the other pretty miss no that too!" He said, smiling and waving as he left.

'Three... he still thinks Gorouza is a girl...' Kasane thought, sweat dropping, as she glanced at Gorouza, who was just smiling politely. He must be used to it, since he had such a pretty face. "Gorouza, you also have a reason for fighting, don't you?" Kasane asked as they walked over to join the others.

"Yes." Gorouza said, smiling at her.

'That's right. Everyone here... has something they're fighting for. So, what can I do?' Kasane thought.

"Gorouza, Karane!" Inuchiyo yelled as he ran over to them, getting Kasane's name wrong again.

"It's Kasane." Kasane said, sweat dropping.

"Here, food!" Inuchiyo said cheerfully as he put two _heaping_ bowls of rice into their hands. Inuchiyo had a few rice grains on his face, indicating that he had already eaten before they came.

"Ah, thanks, Inuchiyo." Kasane said, flinching in surprise at the mountain of rice he just handed her.

"Whoa, this is a little too..." Gorouza said, sweat dropping as he held his own bowl that was piled high with rice. Kasane stared at Inuchiyo as they all sat down to eat together and he began shoveling food into his mouth, like he was a human garbage disposal.

'It's like he's pouring it down. Somehow, he can enjoy it like that!' Kasane thought in amazement, sweat dropping.

"Chew it properly." Kuranosuke scolded him, also sweat dropping.

"M-Miss... Miss Kusanagi!" Two boys said, getting her attention.

"Yes...? Who are you...?" Kasane asked.

"I'm—I'm Mouri Shinsuke!" Shinsuke said nervously as he introduced himself to her.

"I'm Hattori Koheita!" Koheita said.

"Your fighting style is amazing!" Shinsuke told her.

"Would you mind sparing with us next time_!_?" Koheita asked.

"And me! I'm next!" A few other men shouted excitedly.

'I will return to Masamune and Kotetsu. Until that day comes, I can't lose. Not to myself... and not to the Sengoku era!' Kasane thought determinedly. "I'd be glad to!" Kasane said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{With Nobunaga and Ayako}

They walked in silence as Ayako followed Nobunaga back into the castle grounds.

"... Um, did I do something wrong?" Ayako asked hesitantly. Usually when Nobunaga was upset with someone, he would bluntly tell them what it was, and then move on. However, he seemed to be brooding over something. Nobunaga stopped and stared at Ayako intensely, as though he was trying to see through her very soul. It was unnerving, to say the least.

"What was that about earlier? You seemed unusually friendly towards Toukichirou, some you had never even seen before." Nobunaga said seriously. Ayako stared at him, stunned.

'_That's_ what he wanted to ask me about..._!_? I thought it was something big from the way he was acting... Wait, could he be jealous...? No, there's no way that would happen.' Ayako thought shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Really? I didn't realize I was doing that... I'm not sure I should be telling you this, but... he's actually one of my ancestors. I'm his great, great, great, great, great granddaughter." Ayako explained. "Although, technically, I'm his illegitimate great4 granddaughter since the son that I'm directly descended from wasn't married to my great4 grandmother at the time, but since he's family, I guess I unconsciously felt safer around him..." Nobunaga stared at her.

"That's all?" He asked.

"Yeah... what else could it be?" Ayako said, confused. She didn't think of Toukichirou as anything more than a distant relative, and she thought it would be disturbing if she did. Nobunaga's stormy mood seemed to lighten a bit when he heard that, but he was still staring at her. "Um, why are you looking at me like that...?"

"... I just can't believe you're related to that monkey. You don't look anything like him." Nobunaga said bluntly. Ayako sweat dropped.

"Well, it has been several generations... and the Blanc family's genes, my mother's side of the family, seem to be pretty strong." Ayako said. "But, we apparently have the same sense of humor, and reasoning skills... So, I don't think it's that hard to believe that Toukichirou is my ancestor."

"Oh, is that so...?" Toukichirou said thoughtfully, as he seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere. "I thought I felt a strange sense of familiarity about you, despite having never actually met you before..."

"_!_?" Ayako said, startled when she realized that he had over heard their conversation. She really hoped this wouldn't have a negative affect on the time line... like possibly preventing her birth some how...

"But our lord is right, you don't look a thing like me~!" Toukichirou said, smiling. "Who would've thought I'd have such a pretty descendant~! My future children must've done pretty well for themselves." He said proudly.

'Even though you thought I was a boy at first...' Ayako thought, sweat dropping.

"Monkey, about that item I requested... do you have it?" Nobunaga asked.

"Of course, my lord! I have it right here~!" Toukichirou said as he set his box of doom down, and he opened a storage compartment on it. Toukichirou presented Nobunaga with the item he removed from it. It looked like a slightly longer than average hanbo, only it was made out of the same iron as a katana, and it had rows of small leaf-shaped bumps on both ends of it. There was red a leather string wrapped around the middle of it, for a comfortable place to grip it, but there was a small unwrapped part in the very middle of the staff that had a strange groove. The very tips of the strange staff had gold caps on them, and the Oda clan's crest was engraved into them. Ayako blinked. It was a beautiful weapon.

"What is that?" Ayako asked curiously.

"It's your new weapon." Nobunaga said, smirking as he handed it to her. Ayako's eyes widened in surprise as she held the staff.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ayako said excitedly as she suddenly hugged him and smiled, glowing with happiness. Toukichirou flinched on surprise at the sudden outburst, after all, they didn't normally do such public displays of affection in ancient Japan—especially not to someone of Nobunaga's high standing. Even more surprising, was the fact that Nobunaga had allowed it. Nobunaga just stood there, looking down at the strange girl as she hugged him. He didn't return the hug, but he had accepted it, instead of kicking her away like he usually did when someone tried to invade his personal space. Nobunaga noticed that Toukichirou was staring at him, and the monkey's smile seemed to say 'I approve, future son-in-law,' and was giving him a thumbs up behind Ayako's back.

"Hmph." Nobunaga said, and turned away from him, ignoring Toukichirou, who flinched in surprise at the rejection.

"Ah!" Ayako said, startled when she realized what she was doing, and let go of Nobunaga, jumping away from him. "S-Sorry, I was just so happy, that I got carried away! I grew up in a foreign country, before I came to Japan to live with my uncle, and society is much more relaxed there... I'm a real hugger, as you can see." Ayako said nervously, not quite managing to suppress her blush as she rubbed the back of her neck. Toukichirou smiled knowingly at her. Ayako's blush deepened as she turned her head, avoiding his gaze. 'He definitely knows...!' Ayako thought nervously as she snuck a glance at Nobunaga. He didn't seem to be acting any differently. 'Good... at least the person I'm really trying to hide it from doesn't seem to have noticed how I feel about him yet...' Ayako thought, feeling both relived and maybe just a little disappointed that Nobunaga _hadn't_ been affected by her hug. 'I definitely need to stop cross-dressing...' She thought. Toukichirou frowned slightly when Ayako avoided him. He knew it was because she was probably shy, but still... he had such a rebellious grandchild, didn't he? Toukichirou suddenly had a brilliant idea to mess with Nobunaga for ignoring him earlier.

"I see, so is that also a sign of affection between family members, as well as thanks?" Toukichirou asked with a scheming glint in his eyes.

"Yes..." Ayako said a little hesitantly, suspicious of the gleam in his eyes.

"In that case... give me a hug too~!" Inuchiyo said, pouncing, as he moved in to hug Ayako.

"!" Ayako said, surprised when he suddenly launched himself at her, but before Toukichirou could even touch her, Nobunaga, who was still standing next to her, frowned, stuck his foot out, and pushed Toukichirou back.

"I didn't call you here to play." Nobunaga said sternly. "Finish explaining how the weapon works to Ayako, and then tell me the information that I asked you to gather for me.

'I knew it~! Our lord is definitely overprotective of her~!" Toukichirou thought triumphantly as he began to tell them what he had learned.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I added a new link to a pic I made of Ayako after her hair is cut and of her new weapon. I wrote the explanation for how it works there, and I also drew her in her new outfit that she's going to get in the next chapter, so you get a preview of it. ^_^


	19. A Close Friend Can Be The Greatest Enemy

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_In that case... give me a hug too~!" Inuchiyo said, pouncing, as he moved to hug Ayako._

"_!" Ayako said, surprised when he suddenly launched himself at her, but before Toukichirou could even touch her, Nobunaga, who was still standing next to her, frowned, stuck his foot out, and pushed Toukichirou back._

"_I didn't call you here to play." Nobunaga said sternly. "Finish explaining how the weapon works to Ayako, and then tell me the information I asked you to gather for me._

'_I knew it~! Our lord is definitely overprotective of her~!" Toukichirou thought triumphantly as he began to tell them what he had learned._

"—Regarding... those women who are targeting you, my Lord." Toukichirou said as he relayed the information he had gathered to Nobunaga.

* * *

><p>They were sitting outside. Nobunaga and Ayako were sitting on the porch while Toukichirou sat on the ground in front of them, humbly insisting that he didn't want to act 'above his station.' Nobunaga was feeding Tenrou as he listened to Toukichirou, while Ayako was having fun playing with her new weapon, switching it back and forth between spiked clubs and a smooth hanbo. The hungry hawk had shown up after Toukichirou had explained the special function on Ayako's new hanbo that turned the staff into two separate spiked clubs. So, Ayako had gone to get the hawk some food, but not before Nobunaga had teased her about how the spiked clubs were to match her new nickname, because a lot of stories involved a club-bearing oni. Ayako decided to let that one slide, since it was obvious that the weapon had taken a lot of time to make, so Nobunaga had to have ordered it a while back—which meant that he had always expected her to win the bet in the first place. It was nice, knowing that Nobunaga had that much faith in her.<p>

"It's as Lord Ikeda said. They really are crossing back and forth between Kiyosu and Iwakura." Toukichirou said, continuing his explanation. "Both of those castles have poor relations with you. Especially Kiyosu. I've heard that the deputy governor there, Oda Nobutomo, is acting on his own and ignoring the governor, Shiba Yoshimune. "I'm almost certain he's moving against you."

"Oda...? Is he a relative of yours?" Ayako asked, confused. She thought it was weird for one family member to try to harm another.

"Yes, he is a member of the Iwakura branch of the Oda clan, but he does not approve of me." Nobunaga said carelessly as he pet Tenrou. Ayako frowned.

"So, just for that, he'd try to get rid you...? That's just messed up." Ayako said in disapproval. "Man, and I thought my grandparents—on my dad's side—were messed up for abandoning me when I was orphaned..." Toukichirou stared at her sadly. He was sorry to hear that his descendant had had such a hard time. Nobunaga stared at her too, though his calm expression didn't give away what he was truly thinking. He had known she lived with her uncle because her parents were dead, but she hadn't told him that particular detail. Nobunaga decided to ask her more about it later, but if Ayako didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't force her.

"Were you able to track down the women?" Nobunaga asked before their pause could turn into an awkward silence.

"No... Trying to track experts who have the upper hand... I was out maneuvered." Toukichirou said apologetically.

"Then, we still don't know who sent them?" Nobunaga said.

"Hmph, having problems, you idiot lord~?"A familiar feminine voice, that Nobunaga and Ayako had thought they'd never have to hear again, said. Kamiko appeared in front of them with all the stealth of a true ninja, and she was holding... an honest-to-goodness, real-live Iriomote wild cat. Ayako stared at her, shocked. How the hell had she managed to find one? Nobunaga was not amused. He glared at Kamiko, who glared right back. Sparks were flying between them as the atmosphere was filled with animosity.

"Oh, and who's this pretty miss~?" Toukichirou asked, smiling, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

"Th-This is Kamiko..." Ayako said, starting to recover from her shock.

"Yep~! And since I've finally managed to complete her task, I am now Angel-sama's' loyal servant~!" Kamiko said, smiling radiantly as she handed the cat to Ayako.

"Good for you, now get lost." Nobunaga said bluntly.

"I don't take orders from you." Kamiko said darkly, as she restrained herself from flinging a kunai at Nobunaga's head. Kamiko knew that Ayako would probably never forgive her if she did.

"...Um, I don't really get what's going on, but you wouldn't happen to know who hired those women we were talking about, would you?" Toukichirou asked, breaking the tension.

'Yes, good job, Toukichirou! Way to distract them!' Ayako thought.

"Nope~!" Kamiko said, smiling brightly.

"..." They all said as they stared at her. How could she not know when she had worked with them?

"Well, it was worth a shot..." Toukichirou said, sweat dropping.

"Seriously, _get lost_." Nobunaga said darkly. Ayako sweat dropped. He was starting to get _really_ irritated now.

"But... you did work with them, didn't you?" Ayako asked.

"Yes, but they just brought me in for that particular raid. They didn't tell me anything about who hired them, just what job they needed to be done. If they told me, they'd probably have to kill me." Kamiko said, smiling sweetly at Ayako.

'Wow... Ayako sure is popular...' Toukichirou thought.

"That's the best news I've heard all day. _Go ask them_." Nobunaga said. The subtext of that statement was clear. He really meant _'Go die.'_ Ayako and Toukichirou sweat dropped.

'Why can't these two just get along...? So, she was hired to kill him... Kamiko didn't actually do anything, other than fight me...' Ayako thought, not realizing that that was _exactly_ what Nobunaga's problem with Kamiko was. Nobunaga didn't trust the kunoichi with Ayako at all.

"If you want to know so badly, then _go and ask them yourself_." Kamiko retorted. It was clear that she meant 'No, _you_ go die.' Ayako sweat dropped nervously... but then something caught her eye. Ayako stared down at the cat in her lap. Its claws were retracted, and the pattern on it's fur wasn't quite right.

"...Um, Kamiko... I'm sorry to burst your bubble, especially after you tried so hard, but... this isn't the Iriomote wild cat that I was talking about." Ayako said nervously, hoping the kunoichi didn't snap and try to attack them when she heard the bad news. Kamiko stared at her.

"... What?" Kamiko asked, giving Ayako a blank stare that meant 'does not compute.'

"An Iriomote cat can't retract its claws, but this cat can... and the pattern on its fur is wrong if you look closely." Ayako said gently. She could tell this was a huge blow to the kunoichi. Nobunaga smirked at Kamiko. This meant that she had failed and couldn't stay with Ayako anymore.

"I see..." Kamiko said, her eyes cast in shadow as she hung her head in defeat. "But as a proper kunoichi, I cannot accept this..." Kamiko said, reaching into her kimono sleeve.

"!" Ayako said, startled. She tried to jump in front of Nobunaga, in case it was a concealed weapon and he was the target, but Nobunaga pulled her back.

"... So, I shall atone for failing my master with my death!" Kamiko said dramatically as she drew a knife from her sleeve, ready to commit seppuku.

"_!_?" Toukichirou said, startled.

"W-Wait a minute—_!_?" Ayako shouted, disturbed by the thought of causing someone to commit suicide. Kamiko hesitated when she heard Ayako.

"Are you going to do it, or not?" Nobunaga asked Kamiko in the same tone a grocery store cashier would ask 'paper or plastic.' Ayako stared at Nobunaga incredulously, stunned by his nonchalance about the whole thing. She was going to yell at him, but then she noticed he wasn't smirking anymore. Despite his dislike for the kunoichi, he felt commiting seppuku over a cat was ridiculous. He was disappointed in Kamiko.

"I will—" Kamiko said, raising the knife. She stopped short when she felt Ayako grab her hand.

"Don't you dare! I know... that in this culture... seppuku is considered an honorable way to die, but... I can't accept this. _I refuse to_. Where I come from, suicide is considered a selfish and cowardly act. Which do you think is more admirable? Taking the easy way out, or bearing the consequences of your actions, and struggling through whatever hardships they may bring? If you want to atone for your failure, then live. Live, and get stronger... so that you won't lose to anyone, not even yourself. All life is precious, so don't throw yours away over a cat!" Ayako said determinedly, as she looked Kamiko directly in the eyes, showing how serious she was. Kamiko stared back into Ayako's fierce eyes. She lowered her hand and returned the knife to her sleeve. The kunoichi sighed resignedly and smiled wryly at Ayako.

"Really... I just can't win against you, can I? It truly is a shame that I have lost the chance to have such an admirable master." Kamiko said seriously. She glanced at Nobunaga. "... Take good care of her, or I'll kill you." Kamiko told the young lord darkly.

"Hmph. I don't need _you_ to tell me that." Nobunaga said seriously as he stared at the kunoichi. Ayako and Toukichirou glanced between the two of them. It seemed the two adversaries had come to a strange understanding. Kamiko nodded, satisfied.

"Thank you. It was a short, but sweet encounter." Kamiko said and bowed to Ayako as a final farewell.

"Have a safe trip..." Ayako said, smiling sympathetically, as the kunoichi disappeared in a whirl of dust, with the speed only a ninja could pull off. Ayako felt sorry for the rejected kunoichi, but it was for the best.

"Let's get back to business. You were saying, Toukichirou...?" Nobunaga said, as though nothing significant had just happened. Ayako sweat dropped. Kamiko hadn't even been gone a minute, and he was already sweeping her presence under the rug. He really had no mercy for people he didn't like...

"Ah! Yes... I can't be entirely sure yet, however, if it is Kiyosu targeting you, I would guess their goal is to keep Owari from uniting under you." Toukichirou said, getting back on track. "If we look at those who don't want you to govern Owari... It would definitely be either the Saito clan of Mino province, or the neighboring Imagawa clan. However, the Saito clan is allied with the Oda clan, which leaves—" Nobunaga stood up.

"Monkey, head out again, and get to the root of what's going on." Nobunaga ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Toukichirou said, bowing. "Then, I'll head to the Imagawas—"

"Hmph, you idiot." Nobunaga said bluntly, getting Toukichirou's attention. Ayako raised an eyebrow at Nobunaga. She was pretty sure she knew where he was going with this, but that seemed a little harsh.

SLAM!

Ayako flinched in surprise and turned blue with shock as Nobunaga slammed his sword down in front of Toukichirou. It was so close to hitting him, that it had sliced the bandana that Toukichirou was wearing on his head. Ayako knew that Nobunaga hadn't been aiming for him, but it still made her nervous to see a sword flying at her ancestor... who hadn't even had the child she was descended from yet.

"_!_!" Toukichirou said as the ripped bandana fluttered to the ground, and he saw what Nobunaga had been aiming at. It was the map that he had pulled out when he began explaining what he had found out. The sword was smack dab in the mark for Inabayama castle, in Mino... where the Saito clan was.

"Head here...!" Nobunaga said, smirking. "In Mino... Inabayama Castle!"


	20. It's Better To Be Ignorant Than Mistaken

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>WHACK. WHACK. WHACK.<p>

"Whoa!" Kuranosuke said, surprised.

"They're at it already." Gorouza said, smiling. Kuranosuke, Inuchiyo, and Gorouza had arrived to begin their sparring practice, and had been greeted by the sight of Kasane and Ayako sparring against a group of guys. They were totally owning them. They also noticed that Ayako had a new weapon. Everyone else was using wooden swords and staves, but Ayako wanted to get used to her new weapon, so they had agreed to let her use it... as long as she didn't use the spiked clubs on them. One of the men tried to literally sweep her off her feet, but Ayako slammed her short staff on the ground, and did a hand stand on top of it, using it as a spring board to push her self up, and flip over, landing on top of her opponent's head briefly, before hitting the guy behind him with her hanbo. He managed to block her, but the force of her blow knocked him off balance, and he fell onto his butt. Meanwhile, Kasane was taking out her own opponents.

CLACK!

"Ah!" Kasane's opponent grunted as their swords clashed, and the force of Kasane's blow knocked him onto his butt too.

"Phew." Kasane said, exhaling as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She raised her wooden sword again and grinned. "Next!"

"Step right up!" Ayako said, smiling as she twirled her hanbo between her fingers. All the guys were sweating heavily, huffing and puffing as they tried to catch their breaths. They couldn't believe how strong the two girls were.

"It looks like we should give them a break, Kasane... How about we give them a break, and spar with each other?" Ayako suggested, grinning.

"You're on!" Kasane said, smiling as the two girls began fighting. It was a sight to see. Neither of them were giving an inch, and neither of them had managed to land a blow on the other.

"May we join you?" Gorouza asked, smiling, as he, Kuranosuke, and Inuchiyo joined the other men.

"Gorouza! Of course!" Shinsuke said.

"You all have so much energy, to do this every morning." Gorouza said, smiling.

"It's because everyone was so embarrassed at that recent sparring match." Shinsuke said, rubbing the back of his necks bashfully. "Still, Kusanagi and Onihime are really strong. No one's been able to land a blow on either of them. The two girls were still going at it, and it didn't look like either one of them was going to lose any time soon. Just where did those girls get all of that energy?

"Gaahhh! Dammit!" Koheita yelled as he suddenly stood up, still panting. "Another match, please!"

"Sure!" Kasane and Ayako said, smiling at him. The two girls had reached a stalemate anyway, so they had decided to call it a draw and move on.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

SPLASH.

"Have you gotten used to the youngsters around here?" Gorouza asked as he drew more water from the well while Kasane and Ayako wiped their faces with cool, wet cloths.

"Haaa~ This feels great~!" Ayako said, sighing blissfully. It felt good to get the sweat off.

"Yeah! Toukichirou explained a whole lot to me. How they'd gotten off guard, I guess?" Kasane said. She laughed. "Did you know, they were actually a little scared of Ayako before they talked to her? They thought she'd be cruel and blood thirsty because of her nickname."

"It's not that funny..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. "I think they're still a little nervous around me though. Since I look so 'different,' they're more wary of me, but they're cool with you, because you only 'wear weird clothes.' Toukichirou told me it would get better as long as I spent more time with them, though."

"Oh, That's right! Speaking of Toukichirou... where did he go?" Kasane asked. It had been a few days since the mini tournament, and Toukichirou had only stayed for night before setting out again.

"Oh, he went to Mino." Ayako said.

"To Mino?" Kasane asked.

"Orders from the lord." Inuchiyo said as he grabbed the whole bucket of water and dumped it over his head, soaking himself with the cool well water.

"He's going to some place called something-yama castle. I heard this morning, when he was saying goodbye to the lord." Inuchiyo said.

"It's hot out..." Kuranosuke mumbled as he sat on a nearby bench in the shade, trying not to melt. "!" He said when a cool, wet cloth hit him smack in the face. He was too hot to even get mad. The cool cloth felt so good... Kuranosuke peeled it off of his face and held it to his forehead. Ayako was smiling innocently at him... It had definitely been her. "How can you be so energetic when it's so hot...?" Even Gorouza had removed the jacket he usually wore.

"I grew up in the southern part of the country I was born in. It gets much hotter, and much more humid there than this. Thanks to that, I can deal with the heat pretty well, but I'm weak against the cold." Ayako said, shrugging. Gorouza held a hand to his mouth, showing he was deep in thought.

'...Mino?' Gorouza thought. He hadn't been told about this, and Inuchiyo had only heard it by chance... and yet, someone had obviously told Ayako. Nobunaga must really trust her.

"Hmph, anyway, it's annoying, always being left behind. Let's get out of here, doesn't matter where!" Kuranosuke said grumpily.

"... Kuranosuke, are you still holding a grudge over that...? Kasane asked, referring to when Toukichirou had accidentally hit him with some of the weapons in his box of doom when they first met. "You're pretty gloomy."

"Yeah, just let it go, man. Life's too short to waste it on grudges." Ayako said.

"Am not! Don't call me gloomy!" Kuranosuke yelled at them, a vein mark throbbing on his forehead. "I've always hated suspicious guys more than anything else!" His eyes were veiled in shadow as he was sprayed with water. Inuchiyo had started shaking himself off in an attempt to get dry, like a wet puppy. "And don't spray that water all over!" Kuranosuke yelled at him, irritated.

"Really? I think he's a nice guy." Inuchiyo said.

"You're suspicious of everybody." Ayako said. "Me, Kasane, Toukichirou... and that guy that brought a fresh delivery of rice to us yesterday."

"He wasn't the usual guy!" Kuranosuke said defensively.

"Oh, yeah. He was clearly a criminal mastermind." Ayako said, rolling her eyes. "He was an old man who needed help just to unload the bales of rice!"

"By the way, Gorouza." Kasane said, getting his attention.

"Yes?" Gorouza asked.

"Where exactly... is Mino province?" Kasane asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. They all stared at her.

'That's right... I've had time to memorize the maps here, but Kasane hasn't...' Ayako thought.

"Hah!" Kuranosuke said, laughing at Kasane's ignorance.

"Gah!" Kasane said, flinching at his reaction.

"Ahahaha! Now I get it! You aren't suspicious, you're just an idiot, aren't you_!_?" Kuranosuke said smirking vindictively at Kasane, pointing at her, and laughing. "Even kids know that!"

"Gah! It's embarrassing enough, you don't have to make fun of me..." Kasane said, blushing out of embarrassment.

"You shouldn't laugh at others like that. This is why your karma sucks, and you became a victim of Toukichirou's box of doom the other day." Ayako said, scolding him. "Kasane's not stupid, she's just ignorant. She'll be fine once we tell her where everything is."

"As for Mino—" Inuchiyo said as he dried his hair off with a towel.

"Inuchiyo! Will you tell me?" Kasane pleaded. Inuchiyo began turning his head in different directions, sniffing the air.

"It's that way~!" Inuchiyo said, smiling cheerfully as he pointed off into the distance. Ayako and Kasane both sweat dropped.

"No... It'd help if you could tell me in a more normal, human way..." Kasane said.

"Mino province is north of here." Gorouza told her.

"It's where the Saito clan is." Ayako added.

"Oh? I have heard of it though..." Kasane said, getting more confused by the second. 'Saito who...? Wasn't that the name of one of the Shinsengumi...?'

"Hah! No use for it, I'll draw a map out for this _idiot_." Kuranosuke said, grinning smugly.

"Gah!" Kasane said, flinching at being called an idiot _again._ Kuranosuke picked up a stick and began drawing a map...or at least that's what it was supposed to be. Ayako thought it looked more like when she had looked at a slide of amoebas, that were all tangled up with each other under a microscope, when she was in middle school. Inuchiyo, Kasane, and Ayako all stared at Kuranosuke's map.

"... I may be an idiot, but I can draw a bit better than you." Kasane said.

"Me too." Inuchiyo said.

"How sad, all that bragging, and this is what he comes up with..." Ayako deadpanned. Kuranosuke was trembling and turning red from embarrassment and anger at being insulted like that.

"... You three..." Kuranosuke muttered darkly. It reminded Ayako of the same tone the wicked witch had used in the _Wizard of Oz_: 'I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!' Gorouza sweat dropped, and he decided to take over before things got ugly... well, uglier, if you added Kuranosuke's drawing into the equation. Gorouza picked up another stick and began drawing another, more detailed map. He even labeled the different areas.

"This is the gist of it." Gorouza said after he finished drawing it.

"Wow!" Inuchiyo and Kasane said as she, Inuchiyo, and Ayako came over to look at his map.

"Nothing less from Gorouza!" Ayako praised.

"It's nothing like Kura's!" Inuchiyo praised as Kuranosuke continued to tremble with embarrassment and indignation in the background.

"Mino is surrounded by Owari, Mikawa, Shinano, and Oumi provinces. Toukichirou most likely headed out to Inabayama castle." Gorouza explained. Ayako nodded in agreement, letting Gorouza know that he was correct in assuming that. Gorouza nodded back, showing his appreciation for that piece of information and continued his explanation. "As Ayako said earlier, it's the castle of Saito Dousan, Lord of Mino."

'Saito Dousan...? Seriously, who is that?' Kasane wondered. Ayako noticed her confused face.

"Owari is located in what we know as Aichi prefecture, and part of Mino is in Gifu." Ayako explained, trying to give Kasane a frame of reference by comparing it to the maps of modern Japan. "See, this body of water is Lake Biwa, but in this era, it's called Omi Lake."

"Oh, so it's near Gifu? Thanks, Ayako." Kasane said, finally able to understand what they were talking about.

"Gifu?" Inuchiyo asked, a little confused and curious.

"Don't worry about it." Ayako said, not wanting to give away too many spoilers for the future.

"Mino's Saito clan and the Oda clan had long been bitter rivals over their territory. Lord Nobunaga's father, Lord Nobuhide, had also fought with them for many years. However..." Gorouza explained.

"About three years ago, a Lady from Mino married into the Oda clan, which formed the alliance the two provinces have now." Ayako said. Kasane and Gorouza noticed that she didn't look as cheerful as she had before, and Kasane wondered why. Gorouza had a feeling he knew the reason.

"So, we have a truce with them now." Gorouza said, ending Kasane's lesson for the day.

"Oh~ I see." Kasane said, happy that she was able to understand. 'So it was a political marriage? Hm? But who got married to who?' Kasane thought. "But you sure know a lot, Ayako! I thought we were both average in history." Kasane said.

"Well, I know a lot about American History, but the teacher I had that covered this era just made everything sound so boring, that I could practically feel my brain turning into goo. So I just couldn't make myself pay attention enough to learn anything." Ayako explained. "I only remember the women so well because so few of them were mentioned, since women weren't considered as important in this era, and detailed records about them weren't kept."

'Hmm... that just doesn't seem right to me, but then again, women's rights are probably still considered a fairly new concept in the long history of Japan...' Kasane thought.

"What's wrong? Are you hungry?" Inuchiyo asked when he noticed the serious atmosphere around the two girls, who realized they were stuck in a male dominated society, and it would only make their situation harder. They were lucky they ended up with Nobunaga, who didn't care if someone was a man or woman, as long as they were useful and loyal to him.

"But... why Mino?" Kuranosuke asked Gorouza. "If he's looking for those where those women came from, wouldn't the Imagawas be the better bet?"

"I don't have an answer to that, myself." Gorouza said thoughtfully. "What do you think, Ayako? Has the lord mentioned anything to you?"

"Not really... but there's a saying where I come from: 'some friends are just enemies that don't have enough guts to kill you.' Just because they're our allies now, doesn't mean it'll stay that way. The Oda clan and the Saito clan were enemies before, and things like that aren't easily forgotten." Ayako said. They were unaware that two men were approaching them. Inuchiyo and Kasane noticed.

"Ah!" Kasane said as Inuchiyo perked up when he saw who it was.

"—I've only heard that the discord in Mino between Saito Dousan and his son, Yoshitatsu, has become intense." Gorouza continued, not giving Kasane enough time to speak up and warn him, Kuranosuke, and Ayako about the two people who had just walked up behind them. "Maybe the lord is thinking something about that—"

"What... am I thinking_!_?" Nobunaga demanded, furrowing his brow, and nearly giving the three of them a heart attack when they suddenly heard the stern voice of the very person they had just been talking about.

"Again with the scary face..." Nobuyuki said, sweat dropping.

"My... My Lord!" Gorouza said, surprised.

"Lord Nobunaga...! And lord Nobuyuki." Kuranosuke said, afraid that Nobunaga was mad at them.

"You... You scared me...! How long have you two been standing there_!_?" Ayako asked, trying to calm down her rapidly beating heart.

"About when you started saying that phrase about 'some friends...'. Nobunaga told her as he glanced at all of them, like a hawk observing its prey. Ayako sweat dropped. So he had heard pretty much the whole thing. "You guys..." He said, addressing all of them.

"Y-Yes, sir!" They said, snapping to attention.

"I have a job for you." Nobunaga said bluntly.

"Huh?" Ayako and Gorouza said. They had thought he was displeased with them, but that obviously wasn't the case if he was still trusting them with a mission.

Nobunaga really wasn't mad at all. He just liked to mess with them. He was actually a little proud that Ayako and Gorouza were able to figure that much out, despite not knowing the whole story, and he was glad to know that Ayako wasn't as naïve as she usually acted. When they weren't fighting, she was usually a cheerful and playful girl, but if you weren't careful, this violent era would mercilessly chew a person up and spit them back out.

"I thought he was mad at us..." Kuranosuke mumbled to himself, relieved.

"A job...?" Kasane asked.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I added in the part where Ayako thought about Saito from the Shinsengumi, because that's the first thought that popped into my head when I read that... even thought I knew it was the wrong era for him. (^_^;) So, I looked it up on wikipedia, and my ignorance was cured... for the most part.


	21. And Beauty Was Her Name

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_I have a job for you." Nobunaga said bluntly._

"_Huh?" Ayako and Gorouza said. They had thought he was displeased with them, but that obviously wasn't the case if he was still trusting them with a mission. Nobunaga really wasn't mad at all. He just liked to mess with them. He was actually a little proud that Ayako and Gorouza were able to figure that much out, despite not knowing the whole story, and he was glad to know that Ayako wasn't as naïve as she usually acted. When they weren't fighting, she was usually a cheerful and playful girl, but if you weren't careful, this violent era would mercilessly chew a person up and spit them back out._

"_I thought he was mad at us..." Kuranosuke mumbled to himself, relieved._

"_A job...?" Kasane asked._

* * *

><p>"You guys were pulled from the middle of your training." Nobuyuki said apologetically.<p>

It turned out that the job Nobunaga had for them was to escort Nobuyuki, and make sure that he didn't run into any trouble on his way back to his own home. So, there they were, walking beside Nobuyuki as his guard, while he road on his horse. Inuchiyo and Ayako were leading the horse, Kasane and Gorouza were flanking the young lord on the sides, and Kuranosuke had the rear guard... mostly because he was too exhausted from the heat to walk any faster.

"It was decided that I had to return to Suemori, but... to send people along with me like he did... I did tell my brother that I was fine traveling alone, too." Nobuyuki said, smiling wryly.

"Oh no, I'd be happy to accompany you!" Kasane said enthusiastically.

"I'm glad to hear that." Nobuyuki said, smiling gratefully at her acceptance.

"Besides, Nobunaga is just doing what any good older brother would do. He just wants to make sure that his younger brother is safe." Ayako said, smiling reassuringly at him.

"It's as they say. We can't let anything happen to you, Lord Kanjuuro." Gorouza said.

"Haha, thanks." Nobuyuki said, blushing shyly. He was glad to know that his brother cared.

"Plus... now that I think about it, this is the first time I've gotten to take a good look at the land beyond the castle." Kasane said, smiling.

"Is that so?" Nobuyuki asked, slightly surprised.

"Right after I arrived here, I didn't know what was what, actually." Kasane admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Hmm, that's true... I haven't really had a chance to do that either. Whenever we went out, it was for a mission, so we didn't have time to really relax and take in the sights." Ayako said thoughtfully.

"..." Nobuyuki said as he stared at them. These poor girls were so deprived... then he had a brilliant idea. Nobuyuki smiled at them. "In that case... shall we take a slight detour?" He asked as a village came into view.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Kasane stared at the village in amazement. Rather than a village, it was more like a small city. The place was bustling and full of merchants selling food and other goods. People were everywhere, and the streets were filled with the sounds of people chatting happily with eachother and haggling over prices.

"—It's...! It's a city!" Kasane said, amazed. "Wow, what is this place?"

"Is this also your first time at a market?" Nobuyuki asked, pleased to see that the two girls were excited. Although Ayako hadn't said anything, her eyes were sparkling with excitement and curiosity.

"A market...? " Kasane asked.

"That's right, look at the shops~!" Ayako said happily. Nobunaga had paid her the salary he had promised her after she beat a few more opponents in the mini tournament the other day. Maybe now, she could finally buy herself a more feminine outfit... and there was nothing like some good old-fashioned retail therapy! Though, she didn't wan to blow all of her money, so it would mostly be window-shopping.

"And there are so many people! Look, Kuranosukeee!" Kasane said.

"What_!_? Of course there are!" Kuranosuke snapped at her, a vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"Hey you, the two misses over there!" One of the merchants called out to Kasane and Ayako.

"Eh? Me?" Kasane and Ayako asked, pointing to themselves. Ayako was surprised and relived that she hadn't been mistaken for a boy again.

"Yes, you!" The woman said, smiling at them as she held up a pretty kimono for them to see. "How about you get rid of that ugly kimono, and try on one of our new ones?" She asked Kasane.

"Ugly_!_?" Kasane said, shocked. There was nothing wrong with her uniform! Kuranosuke snickered at her.

"You too, Miss. You're too cute to be walking around in men's clothes. If you're not careful, you'll be mistaken for a bishounen! I've got accessories too." The woman said. Ayako sweat dropped and laughed wryly.

"Yeah, too late for that, it's already happened... But I've been thinking of changing my outfit to a more feminine one for a while now, so I'd be more than happy to take you up on that offer!" Ayako said, smiling at the woman. "Let's see what you've got~! I need something that's easy to move in. I do a lot of sparring."

"Sure~! I think I have just the thing you're looking for." The woman said, pulling out a bundle of clothing and handing it to Ayako. "I've got a little changing room set up right here, just step into this curtained area when you're ready to try it on. Your current clothes are in good condition, and they're made of a pretty good quality material, so I'll give you a nice discount if you give them to me in exchange~!" The woman said, winking slyly at Ayako. She was a shrewd businesswoman, after all.

"Deal!" Ayako said, smiling back. It was a good deal. Now, she didn't have to carry her old clothes around with her the whole time they were walking around, and she was saving money.

"Hm?" Inuchiyo said when he noticed a colorful kimono. He held it up to get a better look. It had a very ostentatious rose pattern on it. He smiled happily, a dazed look on his face as he pictured Nobunaga wearing it. He thought their lord would be pleased if they got it for him.

"Inuchiyo... that one's kind of..." Gorouza said, sweat dropping. It was true that Nobunaga had favored similar kimonos when he was younger, before he became the Lord of Owari... but, as a lord, Nobunaga had to project a more dignified image now that he had heavier responsibilities, and he needed others to see him as a reliable and worthy leader.

"It does look like something my brother would like..." Nobuyuki said, smiling wryly and sweat dropping. He was thinking something along the same lines Gorouza was.

"Yeah, our lord does have a tiger-striped scarf, after all." Ayako said from behind them. "But I think that might be a bit too much..." Said scarf had actually belonged to Ayako. She had been wearing it the day that she had arrived in this era, and had decided to let him have it when she saw the young lord eyeing it with great interest. That had amused Ayako a little, because as she got to know him, Ayako had realized that the young lord's tastes and actions were actually pretty similar to a Japanese high school gang leader's. She could totally see him ruling the school if he had been born in the future. The three men turned to look at her, and their jaws nearly dropped in surprise as the stared at her, surprised. Ayako was now wearing a black and red kimono with a matching cropped jacket. The kimono was a little shorter than normal, and it ended just above her knees, but Ayako was wearing 'western-styled' pants under it that fit closer to her legs, but still maintained her modesty. She was also wearing leather boots. Ayako had decided to buy them, since she missed being able to wear closed-toed shoes, and they would protect her feet better when she was fighting. The outfit was still practical, and not the usual female attire of the era, but the change was amazing. Ayako looked _so_ much more feminine it this outfit than she had before. Ayako looked very pretty and cute, despite having short hair... this new outfit really suited her.

"Wow, Ayako! You look really good in that!" Kasane said, smiling brightly at Ayako. She knew Ayako had been upset lately because people kept thinking she was a boy. Ayako happily smiled back at her.

"Thanks, Kasane~!" Ayako said happily.

"Yes, it really suits you." Gorouza said, recovering first.

"Yeah, you look pretty!" Inuchiyo said.

"It's very nice." Nobuyuki said, blushing a little. He had always thought Ayako was pretty, but now that she looked more feminine... he found that he had to update his original opinion to 'beautiful.'

"You finally look like girl now." Kuranosuke said bluntly.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I don't think I heard you right." Ayako said, and Kuranosuke could sense the menacing aura hidden behind her blindingly bright smile. He gulped and nervously avoided her gaze. Was it just him, or had she gotten even scarier...?

"I-I mean... you're beautiful?" Kuranosuke said nervously, breaking out into a nervous sweat under her stare.

"Oh, is that so? Thank you~!" Ayako said, smiling innocently. "Oh! Let's go look at that stall next, Kasane!" Ayako said, pulling Kasane along as they ran over to check out another merchant's stall.

"... It seems that Ayako's gotten even stronger, now that her confidence has been restored..." Gorouza said sweat dropping. Inuchiyo nodded in agreement. They had sensed the threatening atmosphere too.

"Yes, she looked so happy, didn't she?" Nobuyuki said, smiling. He was completely oblivious to the danger Kuranosuke had been in. The others all sweat dropped, but they didn't correct him... Ignorance is bliss, after all.


	22. Hunger Makes A Thief Of Any Man

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_You finally look like girl now." Kuranosuke said bluntly._

"_I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I don't think I heard you right." Ayako said, and Kuranosuke could sense the menacing aura hidden behind her blindingly bright smile. He gulped and nervously avoided her gaze. Was it just him, or had she gotten even scarier...?_

"_I-I mean... you're beautiful?" Kuranosuke said nervously, breaking out into a nervous sweat under her stare._

"_Oh, is that so? Thank you~!" Ayako said, smiling innocently. "Oh! Let's go look at that stall next, Kasane!" Ayako said, pulling Kasane along as they ran over to check out another merchant's stall._

"_... It seems that Ayako's gotten stronger, now that her confidence has been restored..." Gorouza said sweat dropping. Inuchiyo nodded in agreement. They had sensed the threatening atmosphere too._

"_Yes, she looked so happy, didn't she?" Nobuyuki said, smiling. He was completely oblivious to the danger Kuranosuke had been in. The others all sweat dropped, but they didn't correct him... Ignorance is bliss, after all._

* * *

><p>They had split up, and were checking out the different stalls, but they all made sure that they didn't let Nobuyuki out of their sight. They were there to protect him after all. Kuranosuke was drooling over the latest rifle models one merchant was selling, Kasane and Ayako were looking at a rice cooker at one stall, and Gorouza was staying close to Nobuyuki as they looked at different stalls. Ayako was surprised when she noticed that the men in the town were being <em>extra<em> nice to her for some reason. It had finally clicked for Ayako after she and Kasane rejoined Nobuyuki and Gorouza. They were all walking together, when two men came over and started chatting up Ayako and Gorouza. She thought they were just being friendly until they asked them out on a date.

"Are they flirting with _both_ of them_!_?" Kasane asked, her jaw dropping as she gapped at the man who was flirting with Gorouza. She and Nobuyuki flinched in shock and embarrassment for poor Gorouza. He was a _guy_, for crying out loud! Ayako blushed when the man flirting with her asked her out. She hadn't ever really been asked out before... thanks to the fact that almost every guy was too scared of her grouchy uncle to approach her, and those who did lost interest once they realized that she was stronger and tougher than them. Still, Ayako and Gorouza both turned them down as nicely as they could—Gorouza for obvious reasons, and Ayako because... well, she already had a certain someone she cared about...

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

A horse was staring directly at Kasane as she stared back at it. She was looking at the horses that were being sold with Inuchiyo and Ayako. The way the horses were all lined up reminded Kasane of how they displayed and sold bikes in the future.

'It's like the same thing...?' Kasane thought, amazed at the similarities.

"There are horses for sale, too!" Inuchiyo said excitedly as he and Ayako pet them.

"I love horses! They're my favorite animals." Ayako said, smiling affectionately at the horse she was petting.

"I've got some good ones!" The merchant told them, smiling. Ayako reached out to pet the horse that had been tethered to a tree in the back, behind all of the other horses. She couldn't understand why they would leave such a beautiful horse in the back, where he wouldn't be noticed right away.

"Ah, Miss! That horse is dangero—!" The merchant yelled, stopping short when he saw how the horse had reacted to her touch.

"Hm?" Ayako asked innocently as she pet the horse. The man's jaw dropped when he saw that the normally stubborn, wild, and dangerous horse—who never let anyone ride him, let alone touch him—was not only letting this girl touch him, but it even seemed to be cuddling closer to her. The man snapped himself out of it. That problem horse had been causing him nothing but trouble, and no one wanted to buy it because of how dangerous it was, and it was costing him money... This was his chance!

"Excuse me, Miss... would you be interested in buying this horse?" The merchant asked her, trying to contain his creepily triumphant grin.

"Y-Yes... I would like to, but I'm afraid I don't have enough money to be able to afford such a fine horse..." Ayako said hesitantly. The man's smile creeped her out a bit. The man grinned like the cat that ate the canary.

"I tell you what, if you can ride that horse... I'll let you have him for just two copper coins." The merchant told her. Ayako was suspicious of the absurdly low price the merchant was willing to sell such a magnificent horse for, but... She glanced at the horse, and smiled. It would be awesome to have a horse of her own, and she could tell that this one was a little stubborn, but he held himself nobly, with grace, and dignity. He was a proud horse, but she knew that all he needed was a firm hand and to be treated with respect.

"Alright then, you have a deal. We'll let him decide." Ayako said, petting the horse, who snorted in agreement. To make a short story even shorter, Ayako won the deal, and rode away on the magnificent steed.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Wow, I can't believe that you were able to get such a magnificent horse for less than the price of one serving of sweet dangos!" Nobuyuki said in amazement when Inuchiyo told him what had happened when they rejoined the others, and Ayako led her new horse up to them. Along the way, Ayako, Kasane, and Inuchiyo had started listing names, and waited for the horse to snort in agreement when he heard one that he liked. Ayako didn't want him to be stuck with a name he didn't like, after all. The horse had decided he liked the one Ayako came up with—Eishi. So, now they were all together again, walking down the street, with their newest addition to the group, Eishi.

"Back home, they used to call me the 'freebie queen.' I've always been pretty good at bargaining." Ayako said proudly. It was a valuable skill when you lived with a penny-pinching uncle. If Ayako wanted something other than clothes and other basic necessities, she had to earn the money for it herself, but her uncle would let her keep any money that she saved them when she got a discount, so it wasn't really all that bad.

"Hmph, you probably just got lucky." Kuranosuke grumbled. He reached out to pet Eishi. This horse looks pretty tame to me—!" Kuranosuke pulled back his hand, startled when the horse tried to bite his hand.

"Yeah... apparently, he doesn't like to be touched." Ayako said, warning them a little too late.

"Say stuff like that sooner!" Kuranosuke yelled indignantly as he stopped and jabbed a finger at her, only to be smacked in the face by Eishi's tail. The horse seemed to be glaring at him for insulting Ayako. Kuranosuke flinched involuntarily, and the horse's expression changed... it now looked like the horse was _smirking_ at him.

"Good job, Eishi!" Ayako said, petting the smart horse. "But it would probably be better if you kept the biting to a minimum. I don't want you to get in trouble." Ayako told the horse gently, but firmly. The horse snorted. He'd think about it.

"I'm sorry!" Kasane said suddenly.

"Huh? What are you apologizing for?" Kuranosuke asked. "Ah! Don't tell me you're so broke, you stole something?"

"You're really rude, you know that?" Ayako told Kuranosuke, frowning at him.

"I would never!" Kasane said, shocked that he would even think that. "No! No, not at all—Well... I thought towns in this day and age... would be all poor and empty." Kasane said apologetically.

"Huh_!_? What'd you say_!_? You picking a fight with Owari_!_?" Kuranosuke hissed angrily at her, like a cat that had been thrown into a bucket of ice water.

"That's why I apologized!" Kasane said defensively, sweat dropping.

"Well, it's true that it's different from what we're used to in our era, but they have their own standards of wealth here." Ayako said, sweat dropping at both of their reactions.

"Now, now... It's because Owari doesn't have harsh terrain, and due to my brother's influence, some of the restrains on the market have been lifted." Nobuyuki said, trying to calm them down. It has the feeling of a commercial district. Various goods come in from port cities. As for food, there's stuff from the sea to the mountains in abundance—"

RUMBLE. GRUMBLE.

They all stared at Inuchiyo. It was his stomach growling. He was drooling a little, and staring at them like a puppy that was begging for a treat. They all sweat dropped.

"...Oh." They all said. "You were talking about food..."

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Enjoy!" Their server said as he set the food down in front of Inuchiyo, who immediately began scarfing it down.

"Chow time!" Inuchiyo said happily.

"To think Lord Kanjuuro bought you food..." Gorouza said, sweat dropping.

"I can't tell the lord." Kuranosuke said, ashamed of how Inuchiyo had so shamelessly taken up Nobuyuki's generous offer to buy him food, without any hesitation whatsoever.

"Remember to thank him properly." Ayako told Inuchiyo as she fed Eishi some carrots that she had purchased for him with her own money. Nobuyuki had offered to pay, but Eishi was her horse, and therefore her responsibility, so she thanked him and politely declined his offer. Eishi happily gobbled down all the carrots, and quickly became restless once he had nothing to do. "I'll see you guys later, Eishi's getting restless, so I'm going to take him and go find Kasane and Lord Nobuyuki." She told the others, as she waved goodbye for now and left with Eishi. Nobuyuki and Kasane were still walking around the town together. The two of them hadn't been walking for long, when Eishi used his mouth to tug on Ayako's sleeve and point her in the right direction when he saw Nobuyuki and Kasane. "Hey guys!" Ayako said, smiling and waving at them, as she made her way towards them through the crowded streets. It helped that people moved out of her way, since Eishi made them nervous. "Having fun?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Kasane said, smiling happily. It was good to be able to relax for once, and Nobuyuki was easier for her to get along with that Nobunaga was.

"Oh, wait here for a moment!" Nobuyuki said, when he saw something good, and left the two girls standing there.

"Ah! Wait, we're supposed to keep an eye on you." Ayako said as she and Kasane ran after him.

"Here you go." Nobuyuki said, once they had caught up to him. He turned around from the food stall he had just purchased something at, and he handed both of the girls a small bag of something that was warm and smelled sweet. The two girls thanked him, even though they had no idea what he had just handed them, it was too late decline the treat out of politeness, since he had already bought opened the little bags to find that they were filled with some kind of dessert that neither of them had seen before.

"What's this?" Kasane asked, surprised.

"Pastries?" Ayako asked, curiously and excitedly. She hadn't had something sweet to eat in a while.

"Pastries with Ivy packed into the dough and steamed." Nobuyuki said, smiling. He could tell the girls were happy, and he was glad that he had decided to treat them.

"Wow... and the bag is cute too!" Ayako said, showing her girly side, as she smiled cutely when she took a closer look at the little bag the pastries had come in. She especially liked the string they had tied it with. It had decorative knots on the ends that looked like butterflies. Both of the girls took a bite of their pastries.

'Ah, it's good! Unique and sweet.' Kasane thought, as she tasted the delicious sweet. Ayako closed her eyes and smiled in appreciation for the yummy treat.

"Yum~!" Ayako said happily. Being from Louisiana, a place where delicious food was highly appreciated and huge part of the culture, Ayako loved to eat, and she was a real foodie.

"What are the markets in your hometown like, Kasane, Ayako?" Nobuyuki asked curiously. Ayako had her mouth full, so Kasane answered for both of them.

"Well... the atmosphere actually isn't that different. Though, there's no cell phones or CD stores." Kasane said.

"Cell phones?" Nobuyuki asked curiously. Ayako choked when she heard Kasane mention the futures technologies. Sure, she had told Nobunaga about a few things, and he had actually held her cell phone for himself, but she didn't really have a choice, given the circumstances, and Nobunaga understood the importance of not letting that knowledge of the future taint this era. Luckily, her nearly choking had distracted Nobuyuki before he could ask any questions.

"Are you alright_!_?" Nobuyuki asked her, concerned.

"Ah!" Kasane said nervously and patted Ayako on the back _hard,_ in an attempt to stop her from choking, knocking the wind out of her.

"Th-Thanks, Kasane... but I had already stopped choking... Sorry for making you worry." Ayako said, wincing slightly. She was probably going to have a handprint-shaped bruise on her back now, but she didn't mention that part since she didn't want Kasane to feel bad. "You mentioned earlier that there were restrictions on trading, but this place seems like an open market to me." Ayako said, trying to get the conversation going again, without bringing up cell phones, or any other possible time paradox inducing topics.

"Yes, my brother told me that he wants you to be able to trade even more freely at this market eventually.

"There really are restrictions on trading? Isn't this like a flea market?" Kasane asked.

"That's how it's been since long ago." Nobuyuki said. "In order to sell goods, you have to go through a checking station and be taxed. You have to pay money to open a stall in the market. To be honest, we're still quite a ways off from trading freely. Sure, there are people who can abide by the current rules, but... considering this place should be, there are people and goods who won't come to such a closed market."

"Certainly, most foreigners that want to sell their goods here probably wouldn't find it worth their while to come, since the journey over itself can be expensive, and once they got here, they might find out that they can't even sell some of their goods, on top of being fined even more money... They'd probably lose too much money to make any real profit." Ayako said, not realizing she was thinking out loud. "Standing on your pride like this, won't bring you wealth or glory..." She realized that Nobuyuki and Kasane were both staring at her, slightly stunned. "Ah! I didn't just say that out loud, did I_!_? I'm sorry if I offended you!" Ayako apologized quickly.

"No, I was just surprised. That's exactly what my brother said." Nobuyuki said, smiling and laughing. He could see why his brother and Ayako got along so well.

"That's true enough... you're really smart, Ayako—Oops!" Kasane said when someone bumped into her. It was a man that had a huge box tied to his back, like many of the other traders at the market.

"**Oh, Sorry!"** The man apologized as he turned around to make sure they were okay.

"**It's alright, she isn't hurt. Good luck with your trading."** Ayako told the blond and freckled faced man. He sounded and looked like he was from England. The two English speakers waved goodbye to each other, since the man was in a hurry to set up his stall.

'Gah! There really are foreigners trading..._!_?' Kasane thought, honestly shocked to see a foreigner in ancient Japan. "Wow, Ayako! You can speak English really well!" Kasane said, amazed. She wasn't exactly making A's in that class either. Ayako gave Kasane an odd look.

"Kasane... I was born and raised in an English speaking country, remember? English is my first language. I speak it better than I can speak Japanese." Ayako said, raising an eyebrow at Kasane. Eishi also seemed to be giving her a similar look, mimicking his owner. Kasane sweat dropped. She had forgotten about that.

"I'm sure... that what we see walking around like we are now... is far from what my brother has in mind." Nobuyuki said. "My brother once told me this—If there's a province where all the things in the world, both people and goods, can freely mingle together—" As Nobuyuki spoke, both Kasane and Ayako envisioned the town, much more prosperous, and filled with people of every nationality and color, freely interacting with each other. "Then, that's the kind of place he wants Owari to be—" Nobuyuki said, smiling. Eishi nudged the two girls, bucking his head up against them, when he noticed the dazed look on their faces.

"Ah!" Kasane and Ayako said, snapping out of their little daydream.

'Huh_!_? For a second there, I thought... wasn't it like another city?' Kasane thought, rubbing her eyes to make sure she was awake, confused when she saw the same town that had been there before her vision.

'Wow... my imagination really runs away on me sometimes... For a moment there, it was like I was looking at a more Asian influenced America...' Ayako thought, blinking in surprise.

"Are you laughing at how foolish that sounds?" Nobuyuki asked, smiling wryly. That had been most people's reactions when they had heard it. Kasane and Ayako both shook their heads.

"Of course not!" The two girls said in unison.

"Thanks." Nobuyuki said, smiling as he sat down on a bench to rest, and the two girls joined him, taking a break from walking. "I also... think it's something my brother can accomplish." Nobuyuki said proudly.

"Oh, I wonder if that's why he took me in." Kasane said.

"I wonder... Actually he told me about it not too long after Ayako arrived." Nobuyuki said. He knew that Nobunaga had always had the idea of making Owari into a rich place of cultural exchange, but he seemed to be more determined than ever after meeting Ayako.

"Me...?" Ayako asked. 'I wonder if it's because I told him about how diverse and rich America's culture was...' She wondered.

"Now then, it's about time to get going. I'd better go gather Inuchiyo and the rest." Nobuyuki said as he stood up again, and the girls followed suit.

"Yes, sir!" Kasane said.

"... Oh?" Nobuyuki said when he glanced back down at the side of the bench where he had set his sword down earlier.

"_!_?" Ayako said when she saw what had gotten his attention.

"What's wrong?" Kasane asked.

"I put my sword down here..." Nobuyuki said, but the sword was nowhere in sight.

"Eh_!_?" Kasane said, starting to panic when she realized the sword must have been stolen while they were sitting there.

"I can't believe we didn't notice..." Ayako said. "We haven't been sitting here, for long, so the thief should still be—"

"—Ah! That kid...!" Kasane yelled when she saw a dirty and scruffy looking kid in a tattered kimono, walking away with Nobuyuki's sword, in the crowd. The kid took off running. He obviously didn't want to get caught.

"Ah...! Hold it!" Kasane shouted at the kid. "I'll go after him! I'll catch up with you guys later!" Kasane yelled as she ran after him.

"Ah! Kasane!" Nobuyuki yelled after her.

"Wait, Kasane!" Ayako yelled. She glanced at Nobuyuki. She couldn't just leave him there, unprotected, while she ran after Kasane. Ayako figured that Kasane hadn't realized it, but after seeing the state that the kid was in, the situation was probably worse than they had initially thought... And then Nobuyuki took off running after Kasane, adding the cherry on top of the sundae of disaster.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Heh!" The kid who had stolen Nobuyuki's sword laughed, smirking as he ran. "High ranking Samurai like him are the easiest—" The kid thought he heard someone behind him, and glanced over his shoulder. "to trick... Uwah_!_?" The kid said, shocked when he realized that Kasane was suddenly right behind him, running at an incredible speed.

"I'll be taking this back!" Kasane said as she grabbed the sword, and tried to pull out of his hands.

"...Uh!" The kid said, straining to keep a grip on the sword. "What're you doing! I found that! It's mine!" The kid yelled at Kasane.

"Forget it! You can't just steal from people!" Kasane yelled back, scolding him. "Didn't you ever learn that..." Her lecture died in her throat when Kasane noticed that they weren't alone.

The kid had run to a wooded area that was just outside the town. There were a few dilapidated houses, and there were a few adults, but most of the people there were children. They were all dirty and dressed in rags, and they looked like they were half starved. Two of the men there were going through an unconscious man's belongings, and crows were landing close to them, like they were waiting to see what they could scavenge for themselves.

'Who... are these people...?' Kasane thought, flinching in surprise. She suddenly realized that following the kid by herself might not have been such a good idea... she was starting to get scared.

"I can't... steal from anyone...?" The kid said darkly as Kasane looked back at him, unnerved by how eerily calm the kid sounded all of a sudden. "... What are you talking about? If I don't steal... I can't live, can I?" Kasane froze, horrified.

"Kasane...!" Nobuyuki yelled, panting as he and Ayako finally caught up to her. Ayako would've gotten there sooner, but she had to keep pace with Nobuyuki, who wasn't as used to sprinting as they were.

"Wait, if you rush in without thinking..." Ayako said, not wanting to make the situation any worse by acting rashly. The scene that greeted them upset Ayako and tugged at her heart, but she had suspected the kid was heading to a place like this, so she wasn't as shocked as Kasane had been.

"_!_?" Nobuyuki said when more people came out and surrounded them.

"... This might happen." Ayako said, sweat dropping.

"What a pretty kimono... Food... I can smell food..." The people surrounding them said. Ayako grimaced most of them looked weak with hunger. She didn't want to have to hurt any of them, but unfortunately, people this desperate probably wouldn't hesitate to hurt them. "Give us some..." They said, looking half crazed in their desperation as they closed in on Kasane, Ayako, and Nobuyuki. Kasane took a step back, too shocked by the situation to react in any other way. Ayako tightened her grip on her hanbo. "Let us... have some too..." They cried as they thrust their hands towards them.

'Crap...!' Ayako thought when she saw that Kasane was too shocked to react. Ayako swung her hanbo, knocking the people who were in front of the mob back, and away from them. She felt bad about hitting people who were just desperate to survive, but she wasn't just going to roll over and let them hurt her and her friends. Unfortunately, rather than discouraging the remaining members of the mob, it only seemed to make them more determined, and they rushed towards them again.

"_Let us have some...!"_ They yelled as they all reached for Ayako. They overwhelmed Ayako, all of them rushing forwards and slamming into her when she tried to shield Kasane and Nobuyuki. She felt like a surfer getting slammed by a huge fifty-foot wave, and then being pulled under by the riptide. There were just too many of them for her to fight by herself, and almost all of them seemed to be twice her size. Ayako managed to push them back, but she could only hold them for so long.

"Kasane, get Nobuyuki out of here!" Ayako yelled, finally snapping Kasane out of her shock.

"!" Kasane said, and grabbed Nobuyuki, shielding him when the mob began to push Ayako back again.

WHAM!

Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke arrived on the scene, jumping in front of Ayako, and pushing the mob back.

"Inuchiyo! Kuranosuke!" Kasane yelled, surprised and relieved to see their friends.

"Thank goodness... I don't know how long I could've kept that up..." Ayako said, relieved, wiping the sweat off of her brow. Eishi trotted up beside her, nuzzling his head against her. She smiled at the horse and patted his head. "Thanks, Eishi. I owe you one." Ayako said gratefully. When she had run after Nobuyuki, Eishi had gone to get Gorouza and the others for her. Since Eishi couldn't talk, he had gotten the guys there by dragging Kuranosuke by the back of his shirt, forcing to others to follow.

"Lord Kanjuuro! Kasane! Ayako!" Gorouza yelled from behind them. "Hurry up and slip away! Over here!"

"Gorouza!" Kasane yelled, relieved, as she ran to him.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Ayako said as she ran too. She paused when she realized that Nobuyuki wasn't following. He gave the mob a pitying glance before pulling another bag of the pastries he had bought earlier for his brother out of his kimono, and left it behind for them. "Come on!" Ayako yelled, grabbing him and pulling him by the wrist. "I understand how you feel, but it's too dangerous for us here." Ayako said as she closed her eyes, feeling regretful that she couldn't do anything for those poor people.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"No matter how prosperous the market is, there will always be people who can't get a job." Nobuyuki said as they left the town and continued on their journey. Nobuyuki was riding on his horse again while the others walked, but Ayako was now riding Eishi. "On the one hand, there's the influx of cultures and trade goods... but between war, disease, and starvation, families loose their homes. There are some people who can only survive by stealing like that... and for all the power Owari has, we still can't save them. It's like that riot we had. No matter how glorious an ideal you depict, it won't reach the people at the very edges. It's regrettable... but this is the world we live in now."

"It's not just here... there are people like that in every corner of the world. There are people like where Kasane and I come from too, but sometimes they can qualify for receiving welfare from the government, but not everyone who needs help can. Unfortunately, all we can do is help to ease their hardships through charities, and shelters that were built specifically for the homeless." Ayako said sadly. "The local churches and other charities try their best to pick up the slack from the government by collecting money, clothes, and food from the congregation, but there's only so much they can do..."

'There were kids there around Masamune's age...' Kasane thought, clenching her fist. It broke her heart, and frustrated her to see people living in such horrible conditions. "'It looks about the same,' yeah right..." Kasane said bitterly.


	23. Life Isn't All Rainbows And Butterflies

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

'_There were kids there around Masamune's age...' Kasane thought, clenching her fist. It broke her heart, and frustrated her to see people living in such horrible conditions. "'It looks about the same,' yeah right..." Kasane said bitterly._

* * *

><p>The others glanced back at Kasane. Ayako's brow was furrowed slightly out of concern. She had been worried that Kasane was being a little too quiet. "—I'm such an idiot. I can't believe... what I was thinking...!" Kasane said, frustrated with her own ignorance. "I didn't even know... there are people like that in the era I lived in.<p>

"Kasane..." Gorouza said, concerned when he saw how distraught she was.

'—I... don't know anything.' Kasane thought bitterly.

"—But... that's why I support my brother's farfetched ideas, in the hope that it'll help even one of those people out of that situation." Nobuyuki said as Kasane wiped her eyes, getting rid of the tears that had started to form in her eyes. "In these turbulent times, it may be extremely difficult—however... this province has to change, and the one who can truly accomplish that is right before us." Nobuyuki said.

'Yes, if anyone can do it... it's definitely Nobunaga.' Ayako thought, smiling softly. She looked up at Kasane. "If you're going through hell, keep going." She told Kasane.

"What...?" Kasane asked confused. The others stared at her too, wondering what she meant.

"That's the motto I live by. If something goes wrong in life... 'if you're going through hell,' and you stop because it's too hard, it hurts too much, or you just get tired of fighting—then that's where you'll stay. If you give up, your situation will never change, but if you persevere—no matter how painful it is to keep going, keep fighting, and overcome the hardships you face—eventually, you'll fight your way out of your hell. Nothing lasts forever, and that includes the bad, as well as the good. As long as you keep going, eventually you'll leave hell, and, if you're lucky, wander into heaven instead. We might not be able to help everyone right away, but as long as we don't give up on them, the day will come when they will no longer have to suffer. No matter what obstacles lay in our path, we must stand firm and face the future." Ayako said, smiling at Kasane. Kasane stared back into Ayako's eyes, and saw the gentle strength and courage in them. Kasane smiled back. Ayako was right. As long as she didn't give up, there was no way she was going to lose. She still had a promise to Masamune and Kotetsu, and she wouldn't let them down.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Owari, Nagoya Castle}

Nobunaga and Ikeda were waiting for Tenrou to return. Nobunaga lounged on the porch as Ikeda held out his arm for the hawk to land on. There was the message they had been waiting for. Nobunaga read the message, he had a serious expression on his face, but his poker face was still firmly in place. Ikeda could only guess what the young lord was thinking.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Inabayama Castle, Mino}

THUMP. THUMP.

The pounding of footsteps could be heard as a man, with a what looked like strange tattoo around his left eye, stomped purposefully through the castle.

"Move it!" He snapped at a servant girl as he bumped into and continued on his way.

"Eek!" The girl said, startled and scared that she had offended the man.

"Father! Where are you Father_!_?" The man demanded as he burst into the room in front of him, and saw the man in question. The older man, his father, was sitting calmly at a table with his back to the door the rude man had just burst through.

"What is it? You make such a racket." His father said, not even bothering to look at him.

"What do you think..._!_? Damn you... you did it, didn't you_!_?" The younger man shouted angrily. "This morning, some people from the eastern borders came to me in tears! They told me that the land they'd been given custody of by the Toki clan... had been confiscated by Lord Dousan without any notice! And on top of that, you showed no compassion for the people you took it from! What right do you have to do that_!_? You dirtied your own hands when you rose up and became ruler here! Just what the hell are you planning_!_?"

"What am I planning...?" The man said. "Then, is leaving critical border territory in the hands of incompetents... and doling out useless compassion your way of ruling?" His father, Saito Dousan, the lord of Mino asked rhetorically with a very patronizing tone.

"... Uh! Damn you...!" The tattooed man said darkly, gritting his teeth. "And you're in charge of the whole province_!_?" He yelled. The servants were doing their best to restrain him when he suddenly tried to lunge at his father.

"Lord Yoshitatsu, please calm down...!" One of the male servants begged the tattooed man as they held him back.

"The way you do things... just causes unnecessary chaos among the people of Mino!" Yoshitatsu yelled at Dousan. Dousan stood up as his son continued to rant. "If you rule by force alone, the weak will be left behind for no good reason. No one is going to approve any reform that goes counter to the people's will! Are you still just going to go around and snatch away people's livelihoods_!_?"

"The 'weak'?" Dousan said, smirking mockingly at Yoshitatsu. "To talk like that, you must first become great yourself." Yoshitatsu flinched and grit his teeth in frustration. "No matter how much you struggle about, you'll never be a match for Kazusanosuke Nobunaga. Wouldn't you agree, Shinkurou?" Dousan said mockingly as he stalked past Shinkurou Yoshitatsu.

"Did you say... Nobunaga..._!_?" Yoshitatsu asked darkly, gritting his teeth in frustration.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Damn it...!" Yoshitatsu yelled as he kicked over the tray of food the servants had brought to his room, and he panted in frustration as he tried to calm down.

"My, now..." A feminine voice said, causing Yoshitatsu to flinch slightly in surprise when he realized that he wasn't alone. It was the leader of the three kunoichi that had tried to assassinate Nobunaga. "Mino's young lord... has lost his temper again today." All three women had been waiting for him to return to his room.

"—What, it's you guys? Are you empty handed again, Kuzunoha? When are you going to give me Nobunaga's head?" Yoshitatsu asked coolly, regaining his composure.

"We have been trying. However, we don't have enough strength. As things stand, your power—"

"I know!" Yoshitatsu said impatiently. "How are things within Owari?"

"Sir! Kiyosu and Iwakura have been against Nobunaga from the start, and will stand with us whenever the time comes... but is this wise? Owari is allied with us. Your decision would mean betraying your father and the Saitou clan." Kuzunoha said as she and the two other women bowed respectfully to their master.

"Hmph, the blood of the Saito clan doesn't flow through my veins." Yoshitatsu said bitterly as he gripped one of the wooden bars of the window. "Saito Dousan, and Kazusanosuke Nobunaga—for my ideals and convictions, I, Shinkurou Yoshitatsu, will defeat them!" He said resolutely as his grip tightened and he crushed the wooden bar in his hand.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Later that day, after they had finally returned to Nobunaga's castle in Nagoya...}

Ayako knocked on Nobunaga's door, and waited for him to give her permission to enter so that she could report the day's events to him. Normally Gorouza would do it, but everyone else was exhausted after schlepping to Suemori and back, and Ayako was the least tired since she had ridden Eishi most of the way... she also had to clear Eishi with Nobunaga since she needed to shelter him somewhere... like the castle's stables. So, here she was, waiting... and waiting... Ayako was starting to get impatient now

"I'm coming in!" Ayako warned as she slid the door open and peeked inside. Nobunaga wasn't there. "Hm? That's weird..." Ayako said. She was sure the servants had told her that they saw Nobunaga heading to his room.

"What's weird?" Nobunaga's deep voice boomed from behind her. Ayako jumped in surprise, and her hand flew over her rapidly beating heart. She was so startled by his sneak attack that Ayako felt like her hear was about to fly out of her chest if she didn't hold it in. She stared at the young lord incredulously.

"_Don't do that!"_ Ayako hissed at him. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack_!_?" She asked, scowling at him as she crossed her arms defiantly. Nobunaga smirked, satisfied that he had been able to get such an amusing reaction out of her.

"Hmph, it's your own fault for letting your guard down simply because you're inside the castle." Nobunaga told her smugly.

"Whatever." Ayako huffed. She thought that Nobunaga was enjoying getting his kicks, at her expense, a little too much. Nobunaga noticed that Ayako was wearing a new outfit. He narrowed his eyes.

"What is _that_?" Nobunaga demanded. Ayako blinked at him, surprised by his sudden change from amusement to displeasure. She realized that he was staring at her outfit.

"Huh...? What do you mean? This is the new outfit I told you I wanted to buy. I was tired of cross-dressing, so I got something that was more feminine, but still easy to fight in." Ayako said, confused. She didn't see what the problem was.

"I see..." Nobunaga said, his eyes cast in shadow. He had thought Ayako meant that she was going to by more men's clothes... not more attractive ones. _"Take it off."_ Nobunaga ordered.

"_Excuse me...!_?" Ayako yelled, blushing cherry red from head to toe. She knew it probably wasn't what it sounded like, but still... to hear that coming from the guy she lov—likes—had her heart doing flips and somersaults.

"Take that outfit off, and put your old one back on." Nobunaga said sternly, his brow furrowed in disapproval.

"Why_!_? What's wrong with it? It's not like I'm showing anymore skin than I did in my other outfit—I don't even like wearing skirts that go above my knees with some kind of leggings or pants in the first place, and this outfit is actually easier to fight in, because I finally have a pair of closed-toed shoes, so my feet are more protected, and those hakama were kind of annoying since I'm not used to wearing such puffy pants... And I'm tired of being mistaken for a boy!" Ayako said defensively.

"I don't care. _You're not wearing that."_ Nobunaga said darkly. He was starting to lose his patience with Ayako's stubbornness. Normally, it was something he liked about her, but at times like this, it was a pain in the ass.

"Well too bad, because I don't even have my old outfit anymore! The merchant gave me a discount in exchange for letting her have my old outfit. This is the only thing I have to wear now." Ayako said stubbornly as she put her hands on her hips. Nobunaga snapped, and Ayako flinched slightly when she realized she had pushed him too far. Nobunaga was known to have a short fuse and a bad temper, but his anger had never been directed at specifically at _her_ before. Nobunaga grabbed Ayako by her arm, and shoved her into his room and slammed the door. "Nobuna—!" Ayako cried in surprise when she fell to the floor. She was starting to get a little scared now. Nobunaga walked right past Ayako and knelt down in front of the drawers that he stored his own kimonos in, and began pulling a few of them out. Ayako had no idea what he was doing, and it was making her nervous, but she didn't want to risk making him even angrier by trying to escape.

"Put it on." Nobunaga ordered Ayako as he tossed one of the kimonos he had been looking at in front of her. Ayako reached out tentatively and picked it up. She glanced warily at Nobunaga, who was staring down at her, wearing his poker face. Ayako carefully removed the kimono from the paper it had been wrapped in while it had been put away. It was a very high-quality black haori that had a very detailed, flamboyant pattern of a dragon flying through clouds on it. Ayako stood up and held the haori up in front of her. It was originally a man's, so it fell about the same length on her as her new kimono. If she wore it, it would not only hide her new outfit, but also her curves, since it was made to be loose and not form fitting. Ayako glanced at Nobunaga. She could tell that he was serious about this.

"... But isn't this yours...? I can't—" Ayako said carefully, but Nobunaga cut her off.

"You can, and you will. That haori is from when I was younger. It doesn't fit me now, and I'll only let you wear that outfit, if you wear this over it." Nobunaga said firmly. Ayako could tell that he wasn't going to budge on this. She sighed in defeat and pulled the haori on. Nobunaga seemed to have calmed down almost immediately after she did. Ayako was beyond confused. Nobunaga often seemed to work in mysterious ways, but she was usually able to sort of understand the gist of his plans... However, this time... Ayako had no freaking clue what was going on. Ayako didn't want to upset Nobunaga again, but... she felt that she deserved to know why he had just treated her like that.

"I'll wear it... but can you at least tell me why I have to?" Ayako asked cautiously. Nobunaga was about to snap at her again, but he thought better of it when he realized that Ayako wasn't acting like her usually spunky self. He had been rough with her, but Nobunaga had been sure not to actually hurt her. He had only used enough force to show how serious he was... he hadn't meant to make Ayako afraid of him. Nobunaga frowned, irritated with himself for getting so carried away. He closed his eyes and looked away from her.

"Figure it out on your own." Nobunaga said bluntly. He might regret getting carried away, but he wasn't going to forgive her that easily. If he'd known Ayako wanted her salary for _that_, he never would have given her one in the first place. Her previous outfit had been a good 'insect repellent,' and Nobunaga thought that Ayako didn't need to make herself anymore attractive when she was already attracting enough pests. Ayako pouted at him, like a petulant child that had just been denied a cookie.

"Fine, don't tell me!" Ayako said tartly, holding her head high, and staring him in the eye defiantly. Nobunaga smirked. She was back to her old self again. He closed the distance between them, and tied the haori closed with the strings that had been sewn into the front of it for that very purpose, now the haori wouldn't reveal _any_ part of her, other than her boots. Ayako thankfully managed to suppress her blush when Nobunaga leaned in so close to her. Nobunaga placed his hand on the side of her face. Ayako was taken aback by how serious he looked all of a sudden.

"... I'm sorry." Nobunaga said firmly but gently, before turning on his heel, and stalking out of the room. Ayako stood there for a moment, stunned.

'Did he just... no way..._!_?' Ayako thought. She couldn't believe that stubborn and proud young lord had just apologized to someone. She had never seen him do such a thing to anyone before. She shook her head, and ran after him, grinning. "I'm sorry, what did you say? I think I might be having auditory hallucinations~" Ayako teased Nobunaga.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said defiantly as he held his head high, maintaining his dignity. "Then you'd better be sure to listen more closely in the future, because I don't repeat myself. I only say the important things once." Ayako smiled fondly at him. Then she remembered she had forgotten to tell him something important.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, but I managed to snag myself a real stud today!" Ayako said, giving him a thumbs up. Nobunaga froze, and whipped his head around to glare at her.

"You _what_?" Nobunaga demanded darkly. Ayako sweat dropped.

'Was there something wrong with what I just said...?' She wondered nervously.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"See, I told you he was a stud!" Ayako said proudly as she introduced Nobunaga to Eishi and vice-versa. "Be careful, though. He doesn't seem to like it when anyone else touches him." Ayako warned Nobunaga. Nobunaga and Eishi were staring at each other, like they were trying to size each other up. Ayako smiled wryly at how serious the two of them seemed to be taking this meeting. Nobunaga smirked. It seemed Ayako was able to charm practically every animal she ever met.

"Eishi, huh? Hmph, your naming sense isn't bad. It's a fitting name for such a fine horse." Nobunaga told Ayako. Eishi snorted and bobbed his head, like he was bowing in acknowledgement to Nobunaga. It looked like they had each other's seal of approval. Nobunaga smirked at Ayako. "He can stay in the stables, but you'll have to take care of him, since I don't want him to maul the stable boys." Nobunaga patted the horse's side as he passed. "Take good care of her." Eishi snorted as if to say, 'As if I need you to tell me that.'


	24. Time To Put Your Thinking Caps On

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>[1552 A.D. (Tenbun year 21)]<p>

{Nagoya Castle, Owari: A few days later...}

"Okay! Now then, how about we take today... and learn about Owari~!" Gorouza said cheerfully. His smile was extra bright today.

"Sureee!" Kasane, Inuchiyo, and Ayako all said, smiling cheerfully, as they sat behind the tiny 'desks' Gorouza had set up for them.

"..." Kuranosuke said, trembling as he sat at his desk, his eyes cast in shadow. There was a vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"My, what's wrong Kuranosuke?" Gorouza asked. "Show me some enthusiasm! Let's hear four 'sure's." He said, smiling brightly.

"Like I would!" Kuranosuke snapped, blushing out of embarrassment. Gorouza was acting and treating them like he was a teaching a group of small children. Ayako thought he would probably make a good kindergarten teacher. "Seriously, what's up with all this? Why do we have to do this kid stuff now?" Kuranosuke asked grumpily.

"Now, now, don't say that. Kasane actually asked to learn about Owari." Gorouza said. Kasane smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Then she should do it herself, right? Why do I have to sit here too?" Kuranosuke muttered.

"Just go with it, Kura! We get to eat that if we help out, you know_!_?" Inuchiyo said excitedly as he pointed to a mound of Ayako's handmade rice balls that were labeled with a note that said _'wait.'_ If Inuchiyo had a tail, it would be wagging nonstop right now.

"Gah! Shut up! No comments from guys who can be bought with food!" Kuranosuke snapped at him, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. "And why are you here_!_? You already learned this stuff when you borrowed some scrolls from our lord to read after you first arrived here!" He said, turning on Ayako. It was true. She had learned this stuff already. Ayako decided early on that she should learn as much as she could about the dangerous era she had landed in. Knowledge is power, after all, but Ayako thought this looked interesting, so she had decided to play along. "And why are you wearing that_!_? I'd recognize that gaudy haori anywhere! Our lord used to wear that!"

"Ah!" Ayako said, pointing behind him, as though Nobunaga had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere, as he was apt to do.

"_!_?" Kuranosuke said, spinning around, his eyes wide with panic at the thought of having been heard insulting the lord's taste... only no one was there.

"Ah~! What a pretty butterfly that was just now~!" Ayako said, smiling innocently. Kuranosuke glared at her. "Oh, don't look at me like that. You're the one who was saying things you know you shouldn't, and for your information, I'm wearing it because Nobunaga made me. For some reason he got really mad when he saw my new outfit, and told me to wear this over it." Ayako said.

"Hmph, he probably didn't want to have to see your weird new look." Kuranosuke said smirking. Ayako scowled at him.

'No, knowing the lord's personality... I think it's for the exact opposite of that... Our lord doesn't like sharing things that are important to him...' Gorouza thought, sweat dropping.

"—Anyway, why'd you suddenly want to learn about Owari_!_?" Kuranosuke asked, glancing at Kasane. "It's not like you're smart."

"Ugh." Kasane flinched at the insult.

"Quiet, you!" Ayako said, whacking Kuranosuke over the head with the harisen that she had just made especially for him.

"What was that for_!_? What is that thing_!_?" Kuranosuke yelled at Ayako.

"For being a jerk, and this lovely, over-sized paper fan in my hand, is called a harisen. I made it just for you~!" Ayako said, smiling cheekily.

"It's not like what I said wasn't true—!" Kuranosuke said, ducking as Ayako threateningly raised the harisen, like she was going to strike him with it again.

"Th-That may be..." Kasane said, sweat dropping. "But that town we were in, and other stuff... It hit me that I don't know anything about here..." Kasane said earnestly. "And right now, I'm here. Living here in ignorance, and remaining ignorant... aren't things I want to do." Gorouza, Inuchiyo, and Ayako smiled at her. "That's why I decided to ask Gorouza... if everyone could teach me things... little by little..." Kasane said sadly as she looked at Kuranosuke. Kasane looked like a cute little girl whose hair had just been pulled by the classroom's bully. Gorouza, Inuchiyo, and Ayako all stared at Kuranosuke. Ayako was holding her harisen.

"Ghg!" Kuranosuke said, flinching, and sweating nervously under their accusing stares. "Wh-What's with that_!_? Don't look at me like I'm the bad guy!" Kuranosuke yelled, but they just continued to stare at him. "—Uh! ... Ghg... Fine, I'll stick around! Man, you guys are so annoying!" Kuranosuke yelled, blushing out of embarrassment.

"Thanks~!" Kasane said, smiling.

"Right? I told you, when you get down to it, Kuranosuke is a nice kid." Gorouza said, smiling, as they all laughed lightly, you could practically see flowers floating around all of them.

"Yep, he is nice." Kasane said, smiling brightly.

"Nice~" Inuchiyo said happily.

"He's such a softie~" Ayako said, grinning.

"You jerks!" Kuranosuke yelled, trembling as he tried to hide his embarrassment. "If you've got time to sit and chatter, then let's get this over with already! I _will _shoot you!"

"Okay, now then. We'll start now that we're all here." Gorouza said as he opened a map up of ancient Japan for Kasane to see. "First, let's review the location of Owari. Where is Owari located?" Gorouza asked Kasane.

"Umm... right! Owari is 'Nagoya' in Aichi prefecture!" Kasane said as she looked at the map, remembering when Ayako had compared it to modern Japan.

"Well, we did just teach her that the other day." Kuranosuke said.

"But isn't Ayako the one who told her that? We couldn't understand your drawings at all, Kura." Inuchiyo said, smiling innocently, and laughing.

"Wow—" Kasane said, amazed when she took a closer look at the map, and all the other areas labeled on it. "That said... so this is what everything was named—" In the background, Kuranosuke had a vein mark throbbing on his head as he got revenge on Inuchiyo for dissing his drawings by pinching his cheeks _really_ hard.

"Cut it out!" Ayako scolded him, and whacked Kuranosuke with her harisen, allowing Inuchiyo to escape.

'So, Tokyo is around Musashi? Osaka is where Settsu was, and Lake Biwa is in Oumi? So, there are fewer provinces in the northeast... Come to think of it, I think Ayako already mentioned that Lake Biwa was called Oumi Lake in this era the other day...' Kasane thought as she read the map.

"Gorouzaaaaaa! Kuranosuke pinched me—" Inuchiyo cried.

"Yes, yes, I'll take care of it later." Gorouza said, smiling, before he turned to Kasane and handed her another map. "Next, look at this one." He told her kindly. Ayako sweat dropped.

It really was like they were all in kindergarten... a kind teacher, juvenile bullying, and crying... yep, those were the good old days... "It's the places within Owari." Gorouza explained to Kasane as he showed her the map. This one even had the different castles labeled on it.

"Whoa~! So that's what it looked like!" Kasane said.

"Ah—! I'll draw too!" Inuchiyo said, pulling out a calligraphy brush.

"In the very center is Lord Nobunaga's Nagoya castle." Gorouza explained, choosing to ignore Inuchiyo's antics for the moment. "Over here is Lord Nobuyuki's Suemori Castle." Gorouza said, pointing to each location on the map as he spoke, while Inuchiyo drew pictures of the two brothers by their castles. Ayako had to admit that Inuchiyo was definitely a better artist than Kuranosuke was. He really captured the essence of Nobunaga's glare. "North of Nagoya is Iwakura castle, and west is Kiyosu castle." Gorouza said.

"My family lives here." Inuchiyo said as he drew a picture of himself next to Arako castle.

"Ah—! I forgot that I promised Eishi I would take him out for some exercise!" Ayako yelled suddenly. "Sorry guys, you'll have to continue this without me!" Ayako apologized, feeling guilty for skipping out on them.

"It's alright, it's important to take proper care of your pets, after all." Gorouza said, smiling, and forgiving her for leaving.

"Wait, why does she get to leave_!_?" Kuranosuke yelled incredulously.

SMACK!

"Ghg!" Kuranosuke grunted in pain when Ayako threw her harisen at him over her shoulder as she left, and it smacked him in the face.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"I'm sorry, Eishi! I almost forgot my promise." Ayako apologized to the noble steed as she lead him out of the stable. "Now, How did I get up there last time...?" Ayako wondered out loud. She had somehow managed to climb onto Eishi's back the other day, despite how short she was, how tall Eishi was, and the fact that the merchant hadn't given her a bridle or a saddle for Eishi. She had been leading him around town with the rope that the merchant had used to tether him to a tree, and ridding bareback hadn't been as hard as she thought it would be, since Eishi was smart and didn't need Ayako to steer him. "I guess for now, I'll just borrow a stool..." She decided. Ayako managed to find a stool nearby and placed next to Eishi. Ayako stepped up onto it, and was about to climb onto Eishi's back when she heard a familiar voice.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nobunaga demanded. He knew that Ayako was intelligent, but unfortunately, she was also prone to acts of stupidity, which she referred to as 'dumb blond' moments, since people with her hair color had been stereotyped as such... and he could see why after seeing some rather spectacular screw-ups on her part—like the time she slipped in the mud after it had rained and grabbed onto Kuranosuke in a desperate attempt not to fall, who grabbed onto Inuchiyo, who grabbed onto Gorouza, who grabbed onto Kasane, and they all went down like dominos. At least it had been entertaining... but seeing Ayako trying to ride a horse as stubborn as Eishi, bareback, wasn't. If she were thrown from the horse, or lost her balance and fell off, it was unlikely that Ayako would get away with only minor injuries after a fall like that. She could break her neck. Ayako stared at him and blinked before smiling at him.

"I'm going for a ride with Eishi." Ayako said happily. Nobunaga frowned at her. Was she doing this on purpose?

"Without a saddle and bridle?" He deadpanned, raising an eyebrow at her. Ayako tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Well, it worked out just fine when I tried it yesterday." Ayako said carelessly, as though it were no big deal. She really didn't think it was. Its not like it's the first time she'd ridden a horse.

"Get down, _now_." Nobunaga ordered. Ayako was confused, but decided to do as he asked.

"Is something wrong?" Ayako asked him once her feet were planted firmly on the ground.

"Do you have some kind of death wish? If you fall from that horse—whether it's because he threw you off, or you just fell on your own—you'll probably end up breaking your neck!" Nobunaga scolded her.

"But I used to ride horses all the time back home with my parents when they were still alive, that is. I'm not exactly an amateur." Ayako said. "This one time, I was riding a horse, and I decided to stand up on his back, like I saw some performers in a circus doing, and I actually managed to—"

"_No."_ Nobunaga said firmly. He couldn't believe her parents had let her do something so dangerous. "If you needed something, you should've just asked. If they tell you no, then ask _me._ I'd rather give you a free saddle than have to plan your funeral." Nobunaga said, dead serious. Ayako sweat dropped. She hadn't thought it was that big of a deal, but if Nobunaga was that insistent upon it... Ayako decided she should probably just humor him. It was nice to know he cared too.

"... All right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." Ayako said.

"Hmph, as long as you understand." Nobunaga huffed. Now that that disaster had been averted, Nobunaga was ready to get back to the task he had come here for in the first place.

"Looking for something?" Ayako asked curiously when she noticed Nobunaga was glancing at the different horses in the stable.

"Have you seen Katsusaburou? He should have returned by now. I was checking to see if his horse was here." Nobunaga said. If his horse was there, Nobunaga would at least know if Katsusaburou was back, and that he probably just hadn't come to report to him yet.

"What happened...? You wouldn't be looking for him so hard if something wasn't wrong. I haven't seen him around for a few days, so I thought you might've sent him somewhere..." Ayako asked, worried about what could have happened to Ikeda. Nobunaga might still be wearing his poker face, but Ayako could tell he was worried about Ikeda. If Nobunaga was worried, it couldn't be good.

"I sent him on a mission to scout out Kiyosu several days ago, but he hasn't returned or sent any messages." Nobunaga told her.

"_!_?" Ayako said, her concern for Ikeda immediately multiplied when she heard that. Ikeda never acted that irresponsibly, and there was no way that Tenrou was just getting lost. That hawk was invincible. This could mean several things, but the worst options were that Ikeda had been captured, been killed, or both. Ayako took a breath. Panicking wasn't going to help the situation. "Should we check with Gorouza and the others? They might've seen him after I left." Ayako said hopefully. Nobunaga nodded.

"If Ikeda really isn't back, I'll need to discuss something with them anyway." Nobunaga said. Ayako glanced at Eishi and smiled apologetically. It looked like she wasn't going to be able to take him out for a ride just yet...

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"I get it! He won with his own strength!" Kasane said enthusiastically when she heard how Nobunaga's father, Oda Nobuhide, had risen in power. Gorouza and the others had explained the rankings to her, and how Oda Nobuhide had become such a great lord by helping the common people when they needed it with is large personal army and wealth. He had been very popular with his retainers and the common folk.

"The power of the Shogunate and governor was also on the decline. It happened in a lot of other provinces, too." Gorouza told her.

"Yeah... but if Kiyosu and Iwakura were superior to him, wouldn't it have been complicated with the men turning to him first?" Kasane asked.

'When did that idiot get out there?' Kuranosuke wondered, sweat dropping when he realized that Inuchiyo had somehow managed to get outside under Gorouza's watchful eye, and was now laughing like and idiot and chasing a butterfly. It was starting to get annoying...

"... Yes." Gorouza said as he gripped the ink stone, his eyes cast in shadow.

FWISH. WHAM!

"Eeep!" Kasane cried as both she and Kuranosuke went blue with shock when Gorouza suddenly chucked the ink stone at Inuchiyo, and it slammed right into his forehead. Inuchiyo hit the ground with a thud.

"That is the problem." Gorouza said, smiling, as he continued his explanation and dragged Inuchiyo's limp body back into the room.

"Oh..." Kasane said, as she and Kuranosuke both sweat dropped. 'Looks like there are other problems too...' She thought nervously. She never would've thought the kind and polite Gorouza would just chuck an ink stone at someone's head like that... If Ayako had seen that, she would've retracted her previous opinion on whether or not Gorouza should teach small children. Was Inuchiyo even still breathing...?

"Kiyosu and Iwakura have been against Nobuhide from the start, as he was trying to unify Owari with his newfound power. When Lord Nobunaga became head of the family, that didn't change." Gorouza said. "It's clear that both of those castles stand in the way of Lord Nobunaga unifying Owari under him."

"Hm... I see... It sounds like a struggle." Kasane said thoughtfully.

"And that's not all. The veteran soldiers are mostly those who followed _Lord Nobuhide_. There are some among them who left without ever meeting Lord Nobunaga." Kuranosuke added.

"That's right... Sayo and the others said something like that." Kasane said, furrowing her brow as she thought.

"If you think about it the lord's situation may very well be more grim than what Lord Nobuhide faced." Gorouza said. "It's as though the moment he took his place as lord... He was surrounded by enemies." Kasane suddenly remembered the day she had asked to fight with them, and Nobunaga had told her 'as I stand now, I don't have anything I can use freely.'

'... I see. That's why he said that.' Kasane thought.

"Okay, shall we end here today?" Gorouza said, rolling up the maps again.

"Food!" Inuchiyo cried excitedly as he suddenly rejoined the land of the living.

"..." Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping as he stared at Inuchiyo. He didn't know if he should be impressed or what that the stupid dog was able to recover at the mere mention of food.


	25. Life Is Tough, Get A Helmet!

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_If you think about it the lord's situation may very well be more grim than what Lord Nobuhide faced." Gorouza said. "It's as though the moment he took his place as lord... He was surrounded by enemies." Kasane suddenly remembered the day she had asked to fight with them, and Nobunaga had told her 'as I stand now, I don't have anything I can use freely.'_

'_... I see. That's why he said that.' Kasane thought._

"_Okay, shall we end here today?" Gorouza said, rolling up the maps again._

"_Food!" Inuchiyo cried excitedly as he suddenly rejoined the land of the living._

"_..." Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping as he stared at Inuchiyo. He didn't know if he should be impressed or what that the stupid dog was able to recover at the mere mention of food._

* * *

><p>"But don't we have an alliance with the Saito clan?" Kasane asked.<p>

"Here's some tea." Gorouza said, smiling as he served them tea to go with the rice balls that Ayako had made for them to eat after the lesson.

"Thanks." Kasane said as they all took their cups. "So, wouldn't they help out if we're ever in trouble?" She asked.

"Who knows. It's not like Dousan's vassal's all support Dousan." Kuranosuke said.

"Hmm... That's surprisingly vague. I thought alliances were more concrete." Kasane said, confused.

"It's more like it's thanks to the Lady from Mino... that the open warfare between us and the Saito has died off. That's about it really." Kuranosuke explained as he sipped his tea.

"Ah, that's right, I wanted to know about her. That Lady from Mino." Kasane said curiously. They never did tell her who married her, and for some reason, Kasane had found it a little hard to ask Ayako about it. "Just who—"

TAP. TAP. TAP—_WHAM!_

Nobunaga had suddenly run up and threw the sliding doors open as he burst into the room, Ayako right behind him.

"My three fools!" Nobunaga bellowed, calling them to attention, and nearly giving Kasane a heart attack.

"Eep!" Kasane yelped in surprise and shock as her heart nearly shot out of her chest. 'He... He isn't good for my heart...' Kasane thought as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.

"My Lord!" Inuchiyo said happily.

"Lord Nobunaga! What's happened_!_?" Kuranosuke asked. From the way Nobunaga had burst into the room more urgently than normal, he knew something must be wrong.

"... Is Katsusaburou back?" Nobunaga demanded as he and Ayako glanced around the room.

'Shoot, he isn't here either...!' Ayako thought, worried.

"Ikeda? I don't think so..." Kasane said, blinking in confusion. She could see that Ayako looked worried about something.

"Has something happened to him?" Gorouza asked, concerned.

"He went out to scout Kiyosu several days ago." Nobunaga said. "—However, he hasn't returned or sent any messages."

"What_!_? But... but then, if they found him, he could be in trouble..._!_?" Kasane yelled.

"—Girl." Nobunaga said firmly.

"Y-Yes, Sir!" Kasane said nervously.

"Move out at once!" Nobunaga ordered.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Kiyosu Castle, Owari}

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP. CLATTER!

A man slammed open a door, revealing two other men. They were the ruler of Iwakura Castle, Oda Ise no Kami Nobuyasu, and the ruler of Kiyosu Castle, Oda Yamato no Kami Nobutomo.

"Well met, Lord Saito Yoshitatsu." Oda Nobutomo said as the son of Saito Dousan stomped into the room and joined them. "Thank you for coming all the way from Inabayama. Recently, Mino—"

"Lord Nobutomo. I... didn't come here for idle chatter." Yoshitatsu said sternly.

"Uh..." Nobutomo said, slightly unnerved by the younger man's impressive aura.

"'Should we join forces with Yoshitatsu... and strike down Nobunaga?' I came here today to hear the answer to that question." Yoshitatsu said.

"..." The two older men said as they exchanged a glance.

"...Though we may not have gone as far as saying it, Nobuhide and Nobunaga have stolen away our dignity as Deputy Governors." Nobutomo said. "We have no hesitation about crushing him—However, Lord Yoshitatsu... there is also one thing we must confirm from you. You may say what you will, but the truth is that your father, Saito Dousan, and our enemy Nobunaga have an alliance. Since you are his son, what proof do you have that you won't betray us?"

"... I see. After all, our provinces were at war once. Your question is quite natural." Yoshitatsu said calmly. "However, all I can give you is my oath. I, Shinkurou Yoshitatsu, have never thought of that usurper as my 'father'. Not once!" Yoshitatsu said fiercely.

"...!" Nobutomo said, startled by the fierce look in the younger man's eyes.

"You can believe me or not. However, while you hesitate, there are those who are surely suffering." Yoshitatsu said. "If Dousan... leaves the province in the care of a man who disregards all proprieties and principles, and doesn't think of people as people... then the province will without a doubt fall into chaos. For sometime now, you have been building up Owari as its deputy governors. You of all people should understand. If the province is plunged into chaos, the might of Owari fades, and useless battles continue to wage on, what will the final outcome be? Those who would suffer the most in that situation—are none other than the 'people'!" Yoshitatsu said, knowing that appealing to their vanity and sense of responsibility towards their people would help him convince them to join forces with him. He knew that Nobunaga was no fool, and the truth was that while Nobunaga did intend to unify Owari under himself, he was not the one who had started this fight. It was Oda Nobuhide that had started this whole feud. The two men before him had been more than ready to try to teach Nobuhide a lesson for undermining their pride as deputy governors when the people had begun to turn to him for help, and in response, Nobuhide had decided to unify Owari under himself. Nobunaga had simply inherited his father's enemies... but Yoshitatsu had no intention of allowing _Nobunaga_ to be the one who finished this fight.

"—That is true..." Nobutomo said, clenching his fist. "Ever since Nobunaga came into power, Owari has been in a never ending state of struggle. I have heard that Imagawa soldiers are constantly fighting on the border, and have destroyed the livelihood of countless peasants." He said, conveniently forgetting that the one who started this feud was _not_ Nobunaga.

"It is as you say, Lord Yoshitatsu... We cannot allow Nobunaga... to continue to arrogantly do as he pleases." Nobuyasu said.

"No matter what it takes, we must succeed in protecting Owari—And we... will never have a better opportunity than now_!_!" Nobutomo said. "Mino's warriors are renowned for their strength. If you are offering to lend us that power—"

"Then we can answer for the 'people' without hesitation." Nobuyasu said as they both stood.

"We will also carry your 'conviction'!" Nobutomo said.

"—Kiyosu, Iwakura, and my Inabayama will form a sturdy wall." Yoshitatsu said, as he too stood. "—And then... From these three points, we will drag Nobunaga down from power!" He proclaimed.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Ikeda Katsusaburou, the man that everyone back in Nagoya was scrambling to find, was hiding in a tree as he watched two noblemen and their attendants leave Kiyosu Castle.

'That's the ruler of Iwakura castle, Oda Nobuyasu. And Mino's Saito Yoshitatsu...' Ikeda thought. 'The defenses and guards have swiftly been increased... This is—!' Beside Yoshitatsu, was a woman that fit the description Ayako had given him of one of the kunoichi that had attacked Nobunaga. Kuzunoha paused when she heard a rustling sound coming from one of the trees above them.

"What's wrong, Kuzunoha?" Yoshitatsu asked.

"... Nothing..." Kuzunoha said as she stared up into the now empty tree. There was no point in worrying her master over this small matter.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

_CLOP. CLOP. CLOP. CLOP._

'I have to hurry to the lord...' Ikeda thought as he rode back to the castle on his horse, urging it to run faster.

BANG!

Ikeda's horse neighed, panicking and rearing back when it heard the gunshot, and the bullet whizzed past him.

"_!_?" Ikeda said as he tried to control his horse. Ikeda decided to jump off of his panicking horse. He wasn't going to get anywhere on that frightened and stubborn horse.

"I knew it, one of Nobunaga's pet dogs. You're a pretty good spy." Kuzunoha said as she and the quiet gun-wielding kunoichi walked up. Ikeda sensed someone coming at him from behind, and drew his sword, managing to block his attacker's weapon at the last minute. It was Iname, using her extra-large kunai.

"But a single man—" Kuzunoha said as she swiftly ran up to his other side. Ikeda drew another sword and swung at Kuzunoha. He missed.

"..._!_?" Ikeda said, shocked. He hadn't just missed—the kunoichi had suddenly disappeared.

_FWISH._

Ikeda was shocked when he looked up and saw that Kuzunoha had jumped above him, and she was now holding a sword, aiming it at him, as she came hurtled down towards him. She grinned at Ikeda.

"—Is no match for us!" Kuzunoha yelled.

_SLASH!_

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

'Dammit...! I have to hurry!' Ayako thought impatiently as she gripped Eishi's reigns, and the noble steed galloped full speed ahead as he and Ayako rushed to catch up to the Gorouza and the others.

Nobunaga had ordered them to leave at once, but he made Ayako stay behind while the others went ahead—refusing to let her go until she found a saddle and bridle for Eishi. For some reason, Nobunaga had been getting a little over protective and treating her more and more like she was a child that needed someone to hold her hand while she crossed the street. Ayako was surprised he didn't just wrap her up in bubble wrap and stick a helmet on her head... good thing bubble wrap hadn't been invented yet. So, now she and Eishi were rushing to rejoin the others before they missed all the action. Ayako hated being left behind like this. She wanted to know that everyone was okay and unharmed, instead of having to worry like this.

'Hold on, Ikeda! You'd better not have died on us!' Ayako thought urgently as she rode past another horseback rider who was wearing a tattered cloak and a straw hat. The other rider's eyes widened when they saw the haori Ayako was wearing.

"You there! Stop!" Ayako heard a strong, commanding, female voice call out to her. Ayako didn't stop, but she glanced back over her shoulder and saw that the other rider had turned their horse around to follow after her. "I said stop!" The other woman yelled as her horse pulled up alongside Eishi.

"I'm sorry, but I can't! A friend of mine is in trouble, and I have to help him!" Ayako said urgently.

"Is it Nobunaga_!_?" The other woman asked, surprised and concerned. Ayako's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the other woman. She didn't seem to be an enemy, and the woman was obviously concerned about Nobunaga... but that didn't necessarily mean that she was an ally.

"Are you an ally of the Lord of Owari?" Ayako asked cautiously. "And why do you think I—"

"Hmph, I'd recognize that gaudy haori anywhere." The woman said. "And what wife wouldn't be considered her husbands ally?" Ayako nearly fell off her horse when she heard that.

"_You're Nouhime!_?" Ayako yelled, shocked. She had known that Nobunaga was married since she remember Nouhime from history class, but... Since Ayako had never met her in person, Ayako had sort of been in denial about it because of her feelings for Nobunaga—but now that she was meeting his _wife_, in the flesh—It was a huge blow for Ayako. Ayako shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She couldn't fall apart right now—there were people who needed her. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me... I was just so surprised to run into you like this... Judging by the direction you were going in, you were headed back to Nagoya, right? Please continue on your way. The direction I'm headed in is dangerous." Ayako said. Even if Nouhime was her rival in love... She was Nobunaga's wife, and therefore, someone very important to him. Ayako had already decided that she would do whatever it takes to protect what was important to Nobunaga... even if it hurt.

"Hmph, as if I'd just leave after hearing _that_." Nouhime said, frowning slightly at her. Ayako blinked. Was it just her... or did Nouhime just sound a lot like Nobunaga...? "If it's so dangerous, then why are _you_ going? It's obvious that something important is going on."

"Ikeda Katsusaburou was sent out to gather information in Kiyosu, but he hasn't returned or sent any letters. We're afraid he might've been discovered and captured by the enemy." Ayako explained. 'Why does she keep putting such an emphasis on the fact that _I'm_ going...? Do I look weak to her or something?' Ayako wondered.

"And our lord sent _you_ to retrieve him... by _yourself_?" Nouhime asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Ah, no... Even for me, that might be a bit much. He sent Gorouza, Kuranosuke, Inuchiyo, and Kasane ahead already. I had something that needed taking care of before I left, so now I'm playing catch up." Ayako said, sweat dropping. "Please, go back. I don't want to endanger someone so important to our lord." Ayako said seriously. Nouhime stared at her thoughtfully for a moment.

"Then I guess you'll just have to protect me then, won't you, _Onihime_?" Nouhime said, smirking at Ayako. Ayako blinked, surprised that Nouhime knew her nickname when they had never met before.

"How do you know tha—" Ayako started to ask.

_BANG!_

"!" The two women said, alarmed. Hearing a gunshot like that was never a good sign.


	26. If There's No Strife There's No Strength

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>"—!" Kasane said. "Gorouza...! That thicket over there...!" Kasane shouted when she spotted a group of people from where she was sitting behind Gorouza, on his horse. Gorouza looked closer at the group of people. It was the three kunoichi that had attacked them before, and they had surrounded an injured Ikeda.<p>

"Ikeda!" Gorouza shouted.

"Stop right there! I'm coming—!" Kasane yelled as she jumped off of Gorouza's horse and slid down the hill.

"Hmph, idiot." Iname said, laughing as she twirled her kunai in her hand. "Who... would stop_!_?" She yelled as she thrust her kunai at Ikeda.

_STAB!_

"_!_?" Iname gasped in surprise. At the very last minute a cloaked figure, wearing a straw hat, had suddenly jumped in front of Ikeda and blocked the blow with a naginata. "... What..." Iname said nervously. "—What the... who're you..._!_?" She yelled as their weapons grinded together.

"..._!_?" Kasane said, surprised, as she panted, trying to catch her breath after trying to rush to Ikeda. 'Who is that...?' She wondered. Kuzunoha saw the cloaked figure grip a sword that had been hidden under the cloak.

'A hidden blade...!' Kuzunoha thought. "Get back, Ina—!" She yelled as the cloaked figure swung the sword up, causing the cloak to fly up, and reveal that the mysterious figure was very busty woman who was clad in a very short sleeve-less kimono with 'booty shorts' underneath. Iname had heard Kuzunoha's warning in time, so she had dodged it by jumping up into the air at the last minute. Iname smirked. But then, a shadowed figure emerged from behind the cloaked woman. It was Ayako. Ayako jumped up, bringing herself face to face with Iname as she swung her hanbo and struck the kunoichi.

"Ghg_!_?" Iname grunted in pain as she was knocked back and slammed into the ground, unconscious.

"**Homerun."** Ayako said, smirking as she landed in front of the cloaked woman and held her hanbo at the ready. Kasane stared at the two other women in amazement.

"Iname...!" Kuzunoha yelled as she ran over to her fallen comrade

"Gorouza! Stupid girl!" Kuranosuke yelled as he and Inuchiyo ran onto the scene.

"Tch!" Kuzunoha said, clicking her tongue in irritation as she grabbed the unconscious Iname and ran away. The quiet kunoichi, Suzu was already gone, and there was no way she could take them all on by herself. Kuzunoha glanced back at the cloaked figure as she escaped. 'That's...' She thought, realizing there was something familiar about the other woman before she disappeared from their sight.

"A-A-Are you okay, Ikeda_!_?" Kasane asked urgently as she and Ayako knelt beside Ikeda.

"You're bleeding a lot. We'll need to apply a tourniquet for now." Ayako said as she examined the wound on his shoulder.

"Ah! Here, use this!" Kasane said as she untied the little ascot from her sailor-style uniform and handed it to Ayako.

"That's perfect, Kasane." Ayako said as she took it and immediately began wrapping it round Ikeda's shoulder.

"... Why are you here?" Ikeda asked, slightly surprised to see them all.

"Well, the lord—" Kasane began to explain.

"Step back a little, girl—" The cloaked woman ordered as she suddenly thrust her sword between Ikeda's eyes, stopping an inch away from his face.

"Huh_!_?" Kasane cried in confusion and panic. Wasn't this woman their ally? Ayako sweat dropped.

'They really are similar...' Ayako thought, a little chagrined.

"You're a man of the Ikeda family! Just what was that_!_? You should be ashamed, Katsusaburou!" The mysterious woman scolded him.

"_!_?" Kasane yelled, beyond confused. "Huh? What the...?" Ikeda had broken out in a nervous sweat as he stared at the blade that was still pointed between his eyes.

"Oh!" Inuchiyo yelled, sounding pleasantly surprised when he saw the cloaked woman. Kuranosuke flinched, paling slightly when he saw her.

"It's—" Gorouza shouted, surprised, as the woman removed her straw hat, and her long black hair fluttered in the breeze. "Lady Nouhime...!"

"It's been awhile, everyone!" Nouhime said, grinning at them.

"Lady Nouhime..._!_?" Kasane yelled, surprised and confused as she watched Nouhime and Ayako pet their horses as they walked out of the trees and into view, like they had been waiting for their masters to finish their business.

"There, there." Nouhime told her faithful steed. Nouhime glanced at Eishi, who was standing protectively close to Ayako, and eying her critically, like it was sizing her up. Nouhime raised an eyebrow at the horse as Ayako smiled warmly at the horse and pet him, oblivious to how he was staring at Nouhime. After a few moments, Eishi snorted acceptingly like he wasn't too thrilled about Nouhime, but he couldn't find any major faults in her either. Nouhime smiled wryly.

"That's a fine horse you have there." Nouhime complimented. Ayako smiled at her, though Nouhime noticed it was slightly tainted by an almost unnoticeable twinge of pain.

"Thanks, his name is Eishi. Be careful, he doesn't like it when most people try to touch him." Ayako said.

"That so...?" Nouhime asked as she glanced at the proud horse. She had a feeling Nobunaga and Eishi would probably get along well.

"... Um, huh? Who?" Kasane asked nervously. It seemed like everyone else, including Ayako, already knew who this mysterious lady was.

"Nouhime is the lady from Mino, get it?" Inuchiyo said, grinning happily at Kasane.

"Hm? The lady from Mino...?" Kasane said "... Oh, what_!_? Ah! Then she's the one..."

"Yes. That's right." Gorouza said, smiling.

"Took you long enough." Kuranosuke grumbled.

"She's the noblewoman who married into the Oda family... in order to form an alliance between Owari and Mino." Gorouza said as they all mounted their horses again. Ikeda hitched a ride with Kuranosuke, and they all started riding back to Nagoya. "She is the daughter of Saito Dousan, Lord of Mino... and is lawfully bound to our lord, Lord Nobunaga."

'Whoa...! So she's the Lady from Mino...!' Kasane thought. "Ah! But, Gorouza... what did you mean by 'lawfully bound'?" Kasane asked innocently.

"It means they're married." Ayako said, twitching slightly as her heart was pierced by her own words. 'I'm and idiot for being hurt by my own words...' Ayako thought, sweat dropping and sighing internally.

"Idiot. You really don't know anything." Kuranosuke said to Kasane, sweat dropping.

"Well, this is embarrassing." Kasane said, smiling wryly and rubbing the back of her neck. "So... she's married to the lord—" Kasane froze mid sentence, her smile still plastered on her face. "... Wait." There was a moment of silence as Kasane's brain finally processed that last piece of information. _"What!_? His wife_!_?" Kasane shouted, beyond shocked.

"Wh-What the_!_?" Kuranosuke yelled as he and Inuchiyo flinched in shock at her sudden out burst. "Don't just yell like that! Y-You'll scare the horses!" Ayako snickered.

'Yeah, sure, 'the horses'... just admit you're scared.' Ayako thought rolling her eyes at him.

"What_!_? But... But that means... the lord m-m-married her..._!_?" Kasane yelled as she waved her arms up and down nervously.

"Why're you getting all flustered? Of course. He's the lord of a province." Kuranosuke said.

"I... I can't picture it...! Someone like him doing something that ordinary, completely unbelievable...!" Kasane stammered, shocked, as she blurted out all of her thoughts.

'Well, it's true that he often seems to defy common sense...' Ayako thought, sweat dropping, as she smiled wryly.

"Hey! Just how do you picture our lord_!_? Why couldn't he have gotten married?" Kuranosuke yelled incredulously.

"..." Ikeda said as he glanced cautiously at Nouhime to see what her reaction would be.

"... Hah!" Nouhime laughed, smiling. "Ahahaha!" She looked much more amused than insulted.

"L-Lady Nouhime!" Gorouza said, flustered. He was really worried that Kasane's mouth was going to get her into trouble on of these days.

"Ah! E-Excuse me!" Kasane apologized suddenly realizing how she must've sounded.

"Don't worry, I think the same, girl." Nouhime said, amused. "There never was any of that sentiment between us. Hmph, truthfully, when I hear 'wife' and 'married,' I don't know how to respond.

"?" Kasane said, confused. She glanced at Ayako. Ayako looked calm, but she was being unusually quiet.

"And yet, Lady, why are you in a place like this? You also seem to know Ayako..." Gorouza said. "Thank you for your Assistance, though."

"I received a letter from Nagoya. I was just heading back there, then I ran into Onihime, and we heard a gunshot." Nouhime said.

"I've been wondering, my Lady, how do you know that name when we have never met before?" Ayako asked. She hadn't even told Nouhime her real name, let alone that annoying nickname. Although, Ayako had to admit, she was starting to like it a little... not that she was going to let Nobunaga know that. Nouhime smiled at her.

"I've heard a lot about you in the letters from our lord." Nouhime said.

"Oh..." Ayako said. Her brow furrowed slightly in confusion. She wasn't sure how she felt about that... knowing that Nobunaga had openly talked about her with his wife.

"Oh, Did he mention me?" Kasane asked curiously. Nouhime stared at Kasane for a moment.

"No, not really." Nouhime said bluntly. Kasane flinched in shock.

'How mean...!' Kasane thought. "You said you were heading back?" Kasane asked, deciding to change the subject.

"For a few reasons... the Lady isn't often at the castle." Gorouza explained.

"Oh." Kasane said, wondering what those reasons were. Ayako was a little curious too. It was obvious that Gorouza had left out the details on purpose.

"Hmph, however... when I finally do get back, I run across a spy floundering around..." Nouhime said sternly, closing her eyes in disappointment and irritation. Ikeda flinched guiltily.

"..." Ikeda said nervously.

"When we get there, I'm going to whip all of you into shape!" Nouhime said sternly with a scheming gleam in her eye.

"Gah! Why even me?" Kuranosuke said, flinching in surprise and dread.

"What do you mean 'why'? We got here before you and Inuchiyo, and you guys had a huge head start. You should've been there long before us." Ayako deadpanned.

"Whee! Let's do it!" Inuchiyo said enthusiastically.

"Don't be happy!" Kuranosuke growled at him.

"..." Ikeda said, sweating nervously.

"Whoa...!" Kasane said in admiration. 'She's strong! Wait, she kinda reminds me of the lord...' Kasane thought. Gorouza sweat dropped at his friends' reactions. "... But... I'm kinda glad." Kasane said.

"Huh?" Ikeda said, wondering what there was to be glad about being scolded.

"Even though Kuranosuke had said our alliance was unstable, having someone as strong as her on our side seems like fun!" Kasane said as they watched Nouhime talk to Inuchiyo and Kuranosuke.

"Inuchiyo, you've gotten pretty big! Nouhime said cheerfully.

"I have!" Inuchiyo said happily, like a puppy that had just been praised.

"Kuranosuke, you should hurry up and get taller than me too!" Nouhime said, grinning at him.

"Stay out of it!" Kuranosuke yelled, a vein mark throbbing on his forehead. Ayako couldn't help but laugh in amusement.

"True enough." Gorouza replied to Kasane, smiling.

"... By the way, Gorouza, just who is that girl? Your wife?" Nouhime asked suddenly, giving them an almost blank stare.

"You're just asking that now?" Gorouza asked, as he, Kasane, Ayako, and Ikeda all sweat dropped.

"Your personality is a little spilt." Ikeda muttered.

"—Oh." Nouhime said, a little surprised when a raindrop hit her hand.

"Looks like it's going to rain." Gorouza said as it started to drizzle and the clouds darkened overhead.

"Yeah, really." Kasane agreed.

"And Ikeda is injured. I'd be best if he avoided being soaked in cool water for now. It could give him a chill." Ayako said.

"Lady Nouhime, we should hurry..." Gorouza said as he glanced at her. "And return to the castle—" Nouhime's eyes were closed tightly as she grimaced in pain, and she was breathing hard. Ayako's eyes widened when she realized that Nouhime was about to fall off of her horse. She jumped off of Eishi's back and rushed over to Nouhime's side, just barely managing to break the other woman's fall.

"_!_?" Kasane yelled in surprise. "La-Lady Nouhime..._!_?" Kasane yelled as she ran over to Ayako and the unconscious Nouhime.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

The rain was pouring down as Nobunaga stared sharply at Ikeda and his three fools. His brow was furrowed as he frowned at them. Ikeda had been injured, and the blood was starting to soak through the piece of cloth they had used to bandage it. Nobunaga suspected that was Ayako's handiwork, but he didn't see her or Kasane standing there with the others. He figured they were probably already changing into dry clothes.

"... Katsusaburou, you know what I am going to say." Nobunaga said sternly as he tightened his grip on the sword he held at his side. Gorouza, Inuchiyo, and Kuranosuke watched their lord and Ikeda, who was kneeling before Nobunaga, with concern.

"... Yes, Sir..." Ikeda said nervously.

SLAM!

Nobunaga slammed his sword against the ground. The others all flinched, startled.

"Do you get it! Losing a single one of your lives... is the same to me as the loss of hundreds of soldiers! Don't ever forget that!" Nobunaga yelled sternly. "Now hurry and get that wound attended to! You can report later." Nobunaga said as he turned to leave now that he had finished scolding them.

"Sir...!" Ikeda said, confirming that he understood his orders. The others sighed in relief.

"You're also done for the day, my three fools." Nobunaga said.

"Ah... my Lord, well..." Gorouza said nervously, stopping Nobunaga in his tracks as the young lord glanced back at him. Nobunaga didn't like how worried Gorouza sounded... if it had anything to do with why Ayako wasn't present... Nobunaga gave Gorouza a look, silently telling him to spit it out. "Actually..." Gorouza said.


	27. Tough Love

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>Nouhime blinked as she slowly opened her eyes once she had regained consciousness. She vaguely registered that although it sounded as though it was raining harder... she wasn't wet.<p>

"—Ah! You're awake, Lady Nouhime_!_?" Kasane asked, relieved, as she leaned over Nouhime to get a better look. "Look, Ayako! She's awake!"

"Welcome back to the world of the living." Ayako said, smiling wryly as she held the back of her hand against Nouhime's forehead to check her temperature. They had dried Nouhime off as best as they could, and they had removed the damp outer layers of her outfit, so that Nouhime was just in her drier, short under kimono now. Ayako didn't want Nouhime to get a cold on top of whatever she had now.

"..." Nouhime said as she stared up at the two girls. She could tell that she was tucked into a nice and warm futon, but it wasn't the room she usually stayed in when she was at Nobunaga's Nagoya Castle. "Where am I...?" Nouhime asked.

"Phew! Whoa you really gave us a surprise there! I'm so glad you're okay! I was wondering what we'd do if you didn't wake up!" Kasane said as she started to ramble now that she had finally relaxed after feeling so relieved to see that Nouhime was okay. Ayako couldn't really blame Kasane, though. They were both feeling worn out after that scare. She was relieved to find that Nouhime didn't seem to have a fever.

"Breathe, Kasane." Ayako said, sweat dropping. "Don't worry, Nouhime, you're safe. We're in Nagoya Castle."

"Onihime... and you're the girl from earlier..." Nouhime said, glancing between the two girls as she started feeling less fuzzy than when she first woke up.

"Yes! I'm Kusanagi Kasane! Kasane said, smiling. "After you fell, and Ayako caught you, everyone managed to carry you to the castle."

'No, that was mostly _you_...' Ayako thought, sweat dropping, as she stared at Kasane. Kasane had immediately thrown Nouhime onto her own back, and, in a herculean show of strength, she carried Nouhime all the way back to the castle by herself. Ayako had wanted to help, but when she broke Nouhime's fall, Ayako fell funny, and sprained her ankle, so she couldn't put too much weight on it without making the injury worse. Ayako couldn't even ride Eishi on the way back without getting help to mount and dismount the horse.

"Since we couldn't get you to your room, we put you in here for now. It's the room Kasane and I are using." Ayako said as Kasane soaked a clean cloth in the bucket of warm water they had gotten for Nouhime, and wrung it out so that it wouldn't drip all over the place when they finished wiping the sweat from Nouhime's face and neck for her. Ayako had already warned Kasane that Nouhime shouldn't move too much, for now at least.

"So, you said this is... Nagoya?" Nouhime asked. It hadn't quite registered the first time Ayako told her.

"Yes! The lord's castle." Kasane said, smiling. She handed the cloth to Ayako.

"Hmm... This water's starting to get cold... I'll go get heat it up again." Ayako said, picking up the wooden bucket and turning to leave. Ayako opened the door and paused when she heard Nouhime speak.

"I see... sorry, I must've been heavy, thanks..." Nouhime said as she tried to sit up.

"Ah! Please lie down!" Kasane said urgently when she realized what Nouhime was doing. "Uh..!" Nouhime gasped in pain when her heart throbbed painfully in her chest.

"!" Ayako said as she immediately dropped the bucket on the porch and knelt beside Nouhime, supporting her, so that she wouldn't strain herself. "Please don't push yourself. Any unnecessary strain will only worsen your condition!" Ayako said sternly, entering full on 'Dr. Onihime' mode.

"But..." Nouhime said.

"No 'buts'!" Ayako countered.

"Um... I-I'll go get the lord! Ah! Or maybe I should call another doctor first..." Ayako said, flustered. Unlike Ayako, Kasane's knowledge of first aid was limited to minor wounds and wounds that were typically seen in a dojo that only used wooden swords.

"I already called for a doctor, so you're fine on both counts." Nobunaga said from behind them. Kasane jumped slightly, but Ayako managed to suppress the reflex, since she was worried she might hurt Nouhime if she flinched while holding her.

"Huh?" Kasane said as she and Ayako glanced behind them to see that Nobunaga was actually talking to them through the closed sliding door... which Ayako thought was kind of strange since she didn't remember closing them again.

"My Lord?" Ayako called out to him.

"I'm coming in." Nobunaga said declared as the doors flew open with a clatter.

"Huh_!_? Just like that_!_?" Kasane yelled in surprise as Nobunaga stalked into the room. Nobunaga stared silently at the scene before him. All of the women looked worn out for one reason or another. Ayako was holding Nouhime—knowing Nouhime, Ayako was trying to keep her from hurting herself out of stubbornness. That spilled bucket of water just out side the room must have been dropped when one of the girls rushed to Nouhime's side. Nobunaga noticed that Ayako's boots were off, and one of her ankles was bandaged. Nobunaga narrowed his eyes slightly, but then he turned his attention to Nouhime.

"Have you been well, Nouhime?" Nobunaga asked, wanting to hear about Nouhime's condition from the woman herself. Nouhime shrugged out of Ayako's grip to kneel before Nobunaga, and Ayako let her, knowing that fight Nouhime on this would probably hurt her more than just letting her kneel would.

"See for yourself, Kazusanosuke." Nouhime said, trying to keep her breathing even as she panted a little from the effort. "...Uh!" Nouhime grunted in pain as her heart throbbed painfully again. Nouhime started to fall over, but Ayako braced her, and supported her again with Kasane's help.

"This is why I told you not to force yourself." Ayako whispered to Nouhime, scolding her.

"I'm sorry to be in this state..." Nouhime told Nobunaga, chagrined at her own weakness. She was grateful that Ayako had been discrete in scolding her. If Nobunaga knew she was disobeying a doctor's direct orders, she'd never hear the end of it.

"It's fine." Nobunaga said bluntly as he sat down, and Ayako and Kasane helped Nouhime back into the futon. Kasane pulled the blanket over her legs, and Ayako draped here haori over Nouhime's shoulders to keep her from getting a chill in her sleeveless kimono. Nobunaga's brow furrowed slightly in irritation when Ayako took off his haori after he had specifically told her _not_ to, but decided to let it go, for the moment. "Gorouza gave me the details. You helped Katsusaburou out." Nobunaga said, addressing Nouhime.

"Yeah, right, look at me. It burns my ears to be thanked for this. I was saved myself right after that by Onihime." Nouhime said, embarrassed that she was being thanked for helping another after she ended up being so weak. Nobunaga glanced briefly at Ayako, who was busy checking Nouhime's pulse.

"How are you doing?" Nobunaga asked Nouhime. The extra concerned look on Ayako's face told him that she didn't like what she had found.

"The same as always. I should be up and about in two or three days... You called me at just the right time... Are things really that bad?" Nouhime asked.

"Tomorrow Nobuyuki and the rest will be gathering. We need to share intelligence and coordinate our forces." Nobunaga told her.

"... I understand. Let me know if there's anything I can do." Nouhime said.

"Even though I have ordered for a doctor to come, you should obey whatever Onihime tells you in regards to your health. She's actually more useful than the 'professionals' half the time. So you can trust her advice. That said..." Nobunaga turned from Nouhime to Ayako. "What did you do to yourself this time?" Nobunaga demanded, furrowing his brow slightly as he looked at her bandaged ankle. Ayako sweat dropped. It was just a sprained ankle.

"You say that like I do it on purpose... I just sprained my ankle when I tried to catch Nouhime, that's all. As long as I keep my weight off of it, it should be better in a day or so, since I'm a fast healer." Ayako told him as she brushed some of her curly blond hair behind her ear. Nobunaga narrowed his eyes, and she could tell that something had pissed him off by the menacing aura that was now radiating off of him. Ayako froze, caught off guard by the sudden show of hostility. She realized that the other two women were also staring at her.

"W-What...?" Ayako asked nervously.

"Ayako...! You're bleeding_!_?" Kasane shouted, shocked when she saw the cut on the side of Ayako's face that had been hidden by her hair until now.

"... Really?" Ayako asked as she held a hand up to her face and felt the cut. It was actually pretty small, and when Ayako looked at her fingers after touching it, she could see that the blood had already started to clot, and form a scale, judging by its thickness. So, Ayako knew that she had gotten the cut recently, but it hadn't just happened at that moment, and it didn't even hurt... It itched a little, but that was it. "Oh! This is the side of my face that hit the ground when I lost my balance and fell when I caught Nouhime... I must've scratched it on a twig or something. It's no big deal." Ayako said calmly. She was used to getting little cuts and bruises from all of the misadventures she had with her dad as a child... like when he taught her how to ride her bike, and let go of her before he explained how the breaks worked... she ended up slamming into the neighbor's fence, and fell into their rose bush. Ayako was really glad that her mother had insisted on making her wear a helmet, elbow pads and kneepads.

"But it's your _face_! What if it leaves a scar_!_?" Kasane said, worried.

"I'm sorry, this happened because I—" Nouhime began to apologize, but Ayako held her hand up, stopping her.

"Don't apologize. I was the one who made the decision to catch you. Besides, I've had worse, and I'm a fast healer. Despite my many mishaps over the years, I only have one scar, see." Ayako said as she pulled up her sleeve and showed them all the dark, but thin scar that was on her the underside of her right forearm.

"!" Kasane said, surprised. She hadn't known Ayako had that scar since she always wore long sleeves. Nobunaga narrowed his eyes and frowned slightly. He hadn't known about it either.

"Compared to this beauty, a little knick on the face is no big deal!" Ayako said, grinning.

"What happened_!_?" Kasane asked, concerned, as she grabbed Ayako's arm. Ayako flinched in surprise when she was suddenly grabbed like that.

"Oh, well I told you how my parents died, right?" Ayako asked Kasane. She couldn't remember if she had mentioned it to Kasane or not, but she knew that she had definitely told Nobunaga already. Nobunaga frowned. He could see where this was going.

"Yeah, you said they died in a car crash, right?" Kasane said, nodding. Nouhime was curious about what this 'car' was, but didn't want to interrupt the flow of the story.

"Right... well, I was actually I the car with my parents when it happened..." Ayako said, smiling sadly. "I was in the backseat, so I wasn't in the half of the car that got crushed by the big tanker truck. This scar is nothing, considering what could've happened..." She could've died, like her parents. Nobunaga had gotten the impression that the world was much safer and more peaceful in the future... At least, that was how it sounded in the stories Ayako had told him before, but these 'trucks' sounded rather dangerous.

"A—Ayako_!_!" Kasane cried as she suddenly pulled Ayako into a bone-crushing hug. A comical waterfall of tears was streaming down her face. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Ah, no... It's okay, Kasane. It happened a long time ago." Ayako said, as she awkwardly patted Kasane on the back in an attempt to calm her down. It was hard to move when she was being squeezed like that. "Help me!" She mouthed at Nobunaga, who just turned his head away from her, ignoring her plea for help. Nobunaga decided to consider that her punishment for not telling him such an important detail about herself. A vein mark throbbed on Ayako's forehead when she saw how Nobunaga had so haughtily ignored her.

"Anyway, don't cry, okay? If my parents knew we were crying over their deaths like this, they'd beat the stuffing out of us." Ayako said, smiling fondly at the memory of her parents. Kasane laughed wryly as she dried her eyes.

"Haha... there goes your weird sense of humor again..." Kasane said, smiling, glad to see that her friend was okay. Ayako was really strong. Ayako blinked.

"I was being serious." Ayako said frankly. "That's what they told me when my grandfather—on my mother's side—died. I couldn't stop crying because I missed him so much, so they reassured me that he was in a better place, but I still cried. They told me that if I ever cried like that when they died, instead of remembering all the good times we had together, and living my life to the fullest, then they come back from the grave and 'kick the crap out of me.' Of course, they had meant when they were much older, but you get the idea." Kasane gaped at Ayako, shocked.

'Is that really something you should say to a grieving child..._!_?' Kasane thought, going blue with shock. She had always thought Ayako was a little weird, but considering her parents... Ayako it was amazing that she had turned out so normal.

"... Your parents sound like interesting people." Nouhime said, not sure whether she wanted to laugh or pity her. Ayako's parents sounded pretty similar to her own father.

"Yeah!" Ayako said, beaming proudly. "They were—_!_?" Ayako was cut off when Nobunaga grabbed her face with one hand, and began scrubbing the cut with the other. Nobunaga had grabbed the clean cloth that they had wet to use for Nouhime earlier, since it was clean and still damp. Ayako winced as Nobunaga scrubbed the wound. The man had no mercy. Nobunaga made sure to scrub _extra_ hard so that he could be sure that all the dirt had been removed from the cut.

"If you don't start taking better care of yourself— _I'm_ going to kick the crap out of you." Nobunaga said sternly, frowning as he continued to clean her cut.

"But it's just a little—" Ayako's protest died in her throat when Nobunaga gave her a fierce glare, warning her that he wasn't in the mood for her stubbornness.

'How scary...' Kasane thought, sweat dropping.

"..." Nouhime said as she watched Nobunaga and Ayako. She hadn't missed how he kept looking at her earlier. Once Nobunaga felt that he had cleaned Ayako's cut thoroughly enough, he stood up and turned to leave the room.

"Don't forget to bandage that cut! If I see you walking around without one, I'll scrub that cut again until your face comes off." Nobunaga threatened Ayako. Ayako sweat dropped. Wasn't that a little extreme? "And don't leave the room without wearing that haori. I'll have one of Nouhime's brought to her from her room."

'If you're going that far, why not just have Nouhime moved to her own room...?' Ayako wondered. As awkward as it was to be in the same room as both the guy she loved _and_ his wife at the same time, the thought being alone with Nouhime actually made her feel even more nervous. Kasane couldn't be there all the time...

"Feel free to use_ that_ as you'd like during your stay." Nobunaga told Nouhime, referring to Kasane. "Rest for today. If anything happens, send her or Onihime with a message, but _only_ if Onihime is wearing that haori." Nobunaga said as he stalked out of the room. Ayako sweat dropped. What was it with him and wanting her to wear that haori?

"Okay." Nouhime said.

'Now that I think about it... Nouhime's outfit is much skimpier than mine, but he didn't give _her_ any grief over it...' Ayako thought, frowning slightly.

"Hm...? I kinda feel like he just casually treated me like property..." Kasane said, thinking out loud, as she furrowed her brow slightly.

"Yeah... I guess you hadn't noticed, but he tends to do that, Kasane..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. "At least he didn't nearly scrub your face off."

"Sorry, it looks like I'll be relying on you." Nouhime said to them, smiling wryly. These two girls were so interesting.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I realized that I didn't make a pic of Ayako when she had short hair and was still cross-dressing, so I decided to make a little fashion timeline that included an image of that, her new outfit, and Ayako wearing Nobunaga's haori over the outfit. The link for it is on my profile. ^_^


	28. A Woman's Strength

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>"Hm...? I kinda feel like he just casually treated me like property..." Kasane said, thinking out loud, as she furrowed her brow slightly.<p>

"Yeah... I guess you hadn't noticed, but he tends to do that, Kasane..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. "At least he didn't nearly scrub your face off."

"Sorry, it looks like I'll be relying on you." Nouhime said to them, smiling wryly. These two strange girls were so interesting.

"Don't worry about it." Ayako said, smiling reassuringly at her. The doctor that Nobunaga had called for had already come and gone, and Kasane had gotten one of Nouhime's own haoris for her to wear, so Ayako was wearing Nobunaga's again. The doctor had given them a powdered medicine for Nouhime, and told them to mix it with some tea for her to help with the bitter taste. Ayako had tested a pinch of it, just to be sure it was safe, since it looked and smelled kind of suspicious, but other than gagging and nearly choking on the bitter tasting powder, Ayako seemed to be all right... She had died yet anyway, and it gave Nouhime a good laugh to see the funny face Ayako made when she tasted it.

"Helping you isn't any trouble at all!" Kasane said enthusiastically. "But the lord really does trust you, Lady Nouhime!"

"Yeah, he doesn't treat you like a child that needs someone to hold their hand every step of the way." Ayako said, still feeling a little chagrined over how Nobunaga had overreacted earlier. It was nice that he showed concern for her... but Ayako wished he'd treat more like she was a grown woman. They were only three years apart in age, after all.

"Is that how you see it...?" Nouhime asked Ayako, tilting her head slightly. It seemed to Nouhime like Ayako hadn't yet realized the truth behind Nobunaga's rash actions whenever it came to her.

"Hm? ...What do you mean?" Ayako asked, blinking in confusion and feeling a little curious.

"Hmph, it's nothing..." Nouhime said. If Nobunaga hadn't told her yet, she wasn't going to ruin the 'surprise.' "We are... something like 'kindred souls.' We have the same goal." Nouhime said, responding to Kasane's earlier statement.

"Kindred souls...?" Kasane asked. Ayako felt her chest tighten painfully. Was that the same as being romantic 'soul mates'?

'—No, I can't let this get to me! It's my own fault for falling for him even though I knew he was married...' Ayako thought. It might hurt to not be able to be with Nobunaga, but Ayako wasn't going to regret loving him. Nouhime noticed the glimmer of pain that was glimmering in Ayako's eyes, threatening to give away her inner turmoil. Luckily, Kasane hadn't been looking at Ayako, and hadn't noticed yet.

"Onihi—" Nouhime stared to speak. She trying to think of a way to help Ayako, when she was interrupted by a rather _loud_ servant girl, who was giggling excitedly, and gossiping with friend as they ran past Ayako and Kasane's room.

"Did you hear? Lady Nouhime is back!" The girl said.

"I did! Let's ask her if she'll tell us more tales of her days roaming about in training!" The other girl said excitedly. Nouhime realized that the two girls were running in the direction of the room she usually stayed in. Nouhime was glad that they hadn't brought her there now. She was too tired to deal with things like that at the moment.

"... Roam... Roaming about in training_!_?" Kasane asked excitedly, as she stared at Nouhime, her eyes sparkling gin adoration, like a puppy who had just been promised an extra special treat. Kasane's aura of happiness at the possibility of hearing such tails was over flowing so much, that Ayako was sure she saw a halo of radiant light around Kasane. Ayako sweat dropped. She was glad Kasane was so happy, but... the tea that Kasane had started pouring was overflowing.

'It's overflowing...' Nouhime thought, sweat dropping, as Ayako gently tilted the teapot up so that it wasn't pouring anymore and removed it from the mesmerized Kasane's hands. Ayako then proceeded to mix the medicine in with the tea as the doctor had instructed. "So, that's what everyone's saying, huh." Nouhime said, sighing.

"What...?" Kasane asked, deflating slightly, feeling a little confused.

"You saw it, so there's no point in hiding it... my health isn't perfect." Nouhime said.

"You have a weak heart... right? I had a friend who has a similar condition, and your pulse is uneven, like hers." Ayako said. Nouhime nodded, smiling a little ruefully. Onihime really was sharp.

"My heart has been weak since birth. Even after short bursts of intense action, I can't get my body to listen to me." Nouhime explained.

"That's horrible...!" Kasane said, appalled. Ayako frowned thoughtfully.

"That sucks... is it usually this bad?" Ayako asked sympathetically. She knew Nouhime probably didn't want their pity, but Ayako couldn't help but be worried. Her friend had needed constant check-ups with a doctor and had to take a special medicine... they didn't have all that in this era. Sure, there was medicine, but they didn't even know what the exact condition that made Nouhime's heart weak in the first place was. So, they couldn't be sure it was actually the best medicine for Nouhime's condition, or if something else might actually be better for her.

"Oh no, it isn't life threatening. Don't worry about me. But with me bedridden at times, I might have become a weak point... for Kazusanosuke's many enemies to strike at. That's why only some people know about my condition." Nouhime said.

"Here you go." Ayako said, handing Nouhime her cup of medicinal tea.

"Thank you." Nouhime said as she accepted it and continued speaking. "So, I left the castle and went to recuperate. Everyone is under the impression that I went to off to train. Word is that I caught a wild boar with my bare hands."

"Th-That's quite the misunderstanding." Kasane said, as she and Ayako sweat dropped and smiled wryly.

'I bet the one who came up with the boar part was Nobunaga...' Ayako thought, laughing wryly, as Nouhime downed the bitter tea in one gulp, not even wincing at the awful taste.

"Y-You're amazing... not even flinching after tasting that vile concoction!" Ayako said in awe. Nouhime smiled wryly in amusement at Ayako's enthusiasm over that.

"Well, I have been taking this stuff for years..." Nouhime said.

"Still, and it's not like the rumors of your strength are completely false. Even if it's only for a few moments, you're a great fighter." Ayako said honestly. "Though that boar thing is a little farfetched... Those things are vicious."

"I'm a fighter to the end. I feel better being seen as one than as a 'Lady.'" Nouhime said, smiling humbly. Ayako nodded in agreement.

"I totally understand. Who wants to be thought of as a fragile little doll that's only good for playing dress up and bearing children? Not me—being a fighter beats being a fragile flower any day in my book." Ayako said.

"Kazusanosuke also thinks that way." Nouhime said, smiling at her.

"Hm? Then, how did you fight so well before?" Kasane asked.

"Well... I studied martial arts under with my father since a young age to build endurance, but... without endurance, all Imanaged to get good at was losing to him. My days in Mino are so nostalgic..." Nouhime said as she remembered her childhood.

"Haha, it sounds like your dad and mine would get along pretty well. My dad taught me how to fight too." Ayako said, smiling.

"So you're amazingly strong, but have no endurance." Kasane said, smiling wryly and sweat dropping as she laughed nervously and refolded the outer kimono they had removed from Nouhime earlier.

"My marriage into the Oda family was to quell the pointless dispute between our two provinces. I wanted to do what I could do, as a warrior." Nouhime said seriously. Ayako smiled softly, and a little sadly. It must've been hard, marrying a stranger for the sake of others. Both Nouhime _and _Nobunaga had had to go through the same painful experience. Ayako was just glad that everything had worked out for them in the end.

"Wow, that's so cool...!" Kasane shouted in admiration.

"Seriously, you're really strong. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Ayako said firmly, smiling at Nouhime.

"You're both so passionate." Nouhime said, smiling. "Kasane... was it. I've already heard about Onihime's circumstances from Kazusanosuke, but why are you here?"


	29. You Lose Not By Loving, But Holding Back

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>"Oh... umm... the lord took me in when I had nowhere to go." Kasane explained. "I'm not here for the country, or for someone else, or anything cool like that—I've just got to hang on here, because my brothers are waiting for me! That's all!" Kasane said, smiling brightly. Ayako and smiled at Kasane.<p>

"Same here, we're both just doing the best we can, so that we won't have any regrets." Ayako said.

"... I see." Nouhime said, smiling softly at both of them. Ayako refilled Nouhime's cup with normal tea for her, and handed it back to her.

"—Wait, Gahhh!" Kasane suddenly yelled as she jumped to her feet.

"_!_?" Ayako said, startled when Kasane suddenly shot into the air like she had a small rocket strapped to her.

"What's wrong?" Nouhime asked as she calmly sipped her tea.

"I-I forgot to prepare lunch! The lord is going to be mad at me!" Kasane said anxiously.

"Oh! Today's our turn, isn't it?" Ayako said. "Will you be alright by yourself for a while, Lady Nouhime? Your condition has stabilized for now, so you should be fine as long as you _stay in bed_." She emphasized the last part, knowing that Nouhime probably wouldn't want to. Nouhime frowned slightly.

"I hate having to be confined to a room like this, so I can't make any promises if I don't have someone here to distract me and keep me company." Nouhime said frankly. Ayako sweat dropped. She had a feeling Nouhime would say that.

"I'm sorry, Ayako! I'll be back in just a minute!" Kasane said as she started to open the door.

'So, I'm the one staying behind after all... well, I am the one who'd be the most help if her condition suddenly worsened...' Ayako thought, sweat dropping.

"Whoa_!_?" Kasane cried in surprise and shock when the door opened completely, and Kuranosuke, Inuchiyo and Gorouza, who had apparently been leaning up against the door and eavesdropping, toppled into the room.

"Gah!" Kuranosuke grunted in pain when he hit the floor and Inuchiyo fell on him.

"Ah!" Inuchiyo cried in surprise.

"Oh!" Gorouza said when he too lost hi balance and fell on Inuchiyo. The three of them were stacked up like an odd totem pole.

"Ooow..." They all groaned.

"Hurry up, and move it!" Kuranosuke grunted, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. He felt like he was being crushed under the combined weights of Inuchiyo and Gorouza.

"You surprised me! Ev-Everyone's here_!_? What happened_!_?" Kasane asked. "A-Ayako, are you okay_!_?" Ayako had her back turned to them, and she was shaking uncontrollably as she held her sides. Ayako couldn't bear it anymore—she bust out laughing.

"Hahaha—I'm fine—that was—haha—hilarious!" Ayako said in between laughs. Kasane and the others sweat dropped while Nouhime held back an amused smile of her own at the three boys' little stunt and Ayako's odd behavior.

"Haha, well..." Gorouza said, smiling wryly.

"We brought a get well gift!" Inuchiyo said happily, not at all bothered by Ayako's fit of laughter. "I've got rice balls!" He said, holding up a package of rice balls, courtesy of Gorouza.

"C-Can't... breathe..." Kuranosuke mumbled as he started to turn blue from lack of oxygen.

"As amusing as you guys look, maybe you should move... before Kuranosuke dies." Ayako said, wiping her eyes as she recovered from her fit of laughter.

"Oh!" Gorouza said, realizing that Kuranosuke was dangerously close to suffocating. He immediately moved himself off of the top of the totem pole, and helped Inuchiyo off of him. Kuranosuke inhaled deeply, relieved that he could finally breathe again.

"We were wondering how things were going." Gorouza said, explaining how they had ended up eavesdropping.

"Hmph, I—I was just tagging along." Kuranosuke said, avoiding their gaze.

"But you were the most worried, Kura." Inuchiyo said, smiling.

"Shut it!" Kuranosuke snapped.

"How is Ikeda?" Ayako asked.

"Seems it wasn't a major wound." Gorouza said, smiling.

"That's great!" Kasane said.

"What a relief!" Ayako said, smiling.

"... Hmph." Nouhime said, smiling wryly as she watched them. They all looked so close, like family. "This castle... is as interesting as ever—"

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Later that night}

Ayako sighed as she walked on the wooden porch, returning to their room after she finished bathing. For some reason, Nouhime had _insisted_ on staying with Ayako and Kasane in their room, instead of letting them move her to her own. Well, Ayako didn't really mind since she liked Nouhime... but the fact that she liked Nouhime—Nobunaga's wife, the guy she was in love with—just made her feel even worse. Since she was starting to become fast friends with Nouhime, Ayako didn't want to do anything to hurt her... like accidentally flirting with her husband, and Ayako knew it would only make trouble for Nobunaga if she caused a rift to form between him and Nouhime—especially when he was already trying to deal with dangerous enemies. He didn't need her emotional baggage—Not that she really thought Nobunaga would be interested in her that way when he treats her like a child... Ayako shook her head.

'I shouldn't focus on the bad things—stay positive, Ayako! In a way, this'll be like a slumber party! Yeah, that's right, focus on the fun part. Take a leaf out of Scarlet O'Hara's book—'I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.'' Ayako thought. In fact, she was so deep in thought that she didn't notice she was about to bump into someone, until it was too late. "_!_?" Ayako said, startled when she bumped into none other than Nobunaga himself. 'Uwaaah! Just when I was trying to _not _to think about my feelings for him! Congratulations on winning the award for _worst timing ever_!' Ayako screamed internally, as she tried to remain calm and stop herself from blushing. 'J-Just act normal—yeah, normal...!' "E-Excuse me, my Lord." Ayako said as calmly as she could and brushed past him, walking away as quickly as she could without looking like she was running away... which she was...

"..." Nobunaga said as he stared after Ayako and watched her retreating form. He narrowed his eyes and frowned. Ayako never called him 'my Lord' when it was just the two of them, and though she had managed to keep a calm expression on her face, Nobunaga hadn't missed the panic and pain that had flashed through her eyes when she saw him. Nobunaga turned and started stalking after Ayako. She was clearly trying to avoid him. If Ayako thought she could hide from him, she was sorely mistaken.


	30. Time Travel Is Confusing

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>"I'm back, your turn, Kasane." Ayako said, smiling as she returned to her and Kasane's room, relieving Kasane form watch duty over Nouhime.<p>

"Okay! I'll be right back!" Kasane said cheerfully as she left to take her bath. Ayako closed the door behind her, and plopped down onto her futon, exhausted after the long and emotionally draining day she had had. Ayako sighed heavily, as she tried to relax. She looked at Nouhime and smiled.

"How are you feeling? Any better?" Ayako asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. I'm feeling much better now, thanks." Nouhime said, smiling at her, but then Nouhime frowned slightly. "You, know, you don't have to force yourself." She said. Ayako blinked as she stared at Nouhime in surprise and confusion.

"What do you mean...?" Ayako asked.

"Don't try to deny it. It's obvious that you're pushing yourself just to be in the same room with me. I can't say I blame you, though. It's only natural to feel uncomfortable when you're alone with the wife of the man you love." Nouhime said matter of factly. Ayako stared at her, shocked.

"I—" Ayako said, about to deny it, but... she just couldn't bring herself to say the words. Ayako bit her lip and closed her eyes as she gathered her courage. Ayako wasn't going to let herself feel ashamed for loving Nobunaga. She looked Nouhime dead in the eye. "You're right. I do love Nobunaga, but you don't need to worry. I have no intention of coming between you two. Because I love him, I've already decided that I would protect what's important to him, and that includes you. I don't want to burden him with my emotional baggage." Ayako said seriously as the two women stared at eachother. Nouhime closed her eyes and sighted. Ayako blinked in surprise. Nouhime looked... disappointed.

"So, you're just going to give up? Nobunaga's a lord, he can afford to support more than one wife, you know." Nouhime said, frowning slightly at Ayako. Ayako stared at Nouhime, stunned. Was Nouhime_ encouraging_ her to go after her husband? Ayako remembered that in addition to Nouhime, Nobunaga did have other wives, but the only other ones that she knew the names for were Kitsuno, and Lady Saka. Ayako had somehow forgotten that they practiced polygamy in the past in Japan... but still...

"You mean, it doesn't bother you...?" Ayako asked.

"I said it before, didn't I? There was never any kind of that sentiment between us. We respect each other, but we don't have any romantic feelings for each other, and it's also unlikely that I will be able to provide Kazusanosuke with an heir. Because of my condition, I'm too weak to bear children and survive, and any children I have could also inherit my weak heart. Nobunaga needs a strong heir. I can't give him that, but you can." Nouhime said, Ayako blushed a deep red at the thought, but she still looked a little sad as she smiled gratefully at Nouhime.

"Thank you, for telling me that, but... you said that Nobunaga told you about me in his letters, right? Did he tell you about my _'homeland'_?" Ayako asked. Nouhime nodded.

"You're from the future, right? I found it hard to believe, but I could tell Nobunaga really believed it, and he wouldn't have accepted something that crazy unless he had seen real proof to support it, so I believe it too." Nouhime said. Ayako smiled sadly.

"Then you know that I don't really belong here. At first, all I could think about was getting back home, but... honestly I'd give it all up if could stay here with Nobunaga." Ayako said honestly. "However, there aren't any records of Nobunaga having a wife or mistress with my name, and also... Well, I don't know how much of this you'll be able to understand since I'm not very good at explaining things, but... Although human blood all looks the same, there's actually several didn't types: O+, O–, A+, A–, B+, B–, AB+, and AB–. Each blood type has its own special characteristics. For instance, if a person with A+ blood get wounded and is going to die from blood loss, if you give them blood from another person with A+ blood, then their body can use that blood to heal, and they won't die from blood loss." Ayako explained.

"... Okay... I think I understand for the most part, but what does that have to do with what you being able to have children?" Nouhime asked.

"Well, you see, my blood type is O-negative. People with this blood type are known as universal donors, because O– is accepted by people of all blood types." Ayako said.

"Oh, so, in other words, if you could save that person with A+ blood, even though it would usually reject other blood types?" Nouhime said. Ayako nodded.

"Yes, however, people with my blood type cannot accept blood from anyone who is not O-negative, or our bodies will reject it, and our immune systems will try to fight the foreign blood. If someone with my blood type were given a large enough amount of a different blood type, it could actually kill us. This is actually very important for me, because if I were to get pregnant, and my baby inherited a different blood type than me, then my immune system could get confused and attack the baby." Ayako said sadly. "My great grandmother lost several children that way, before the doctors finally figured out what was wrong and how to fix it. It can be easily avoided now in the era I'm from, but I would need special treatment and regular tests to make sure the baby was healthy. We don't have the technology for that in this era."

"... I see." Nouhime said, closing her eyes. "I understand your reasons for hesitating now... However, I still think you should tell Nobunaga. Let him decide for himself whether he thinks you're worth it. Didn't you ever think that maybe you were brought to this era for a reason? What you said before implies that Nobunaga will have more than just two wives, and Nobunaga mentioned to me that you told him there weren't any extensive records keep about the women of this era. Tell me, were the women that the historians bothered to name the ones who bore him the most children?" Ayako's eyes widened in realization.

"Yes, you were mentioned because you're his first wife, and the other two were named because they were the mothers of his children, but it was implied that he had another wife..." Ayako said. Nouhime smiled at her.

"You just said it yourself, you might not be able to bear him any children, so who's to say that mystery wife wasn't actually _you_? Even if it isn't you, and you marry him without giving him any heirs, then it wouldn't make a difference either way now, would it?" Nouhime said, smirking at her. Ayako smiled, and this time, it was real. She hugged Nouhime.

"Thank you!" Ayako said, crying tears of happiness and relief that she might still have a chance. Nouhime patted her on the back, smiling wryly.

"Just be sure to tell him soon, before I have to make you." Nouhime said, only half teasing her. Nouhime knew that Nobunaga obviously cared for Ayako, but she thought Ayako should hear it from him first.

"I will." Ayako said, wiping her eyes as she released Nouhime. "I'll tell him once this whole mess with Yoshitatsu and Kiyosu is sorted out."

WHAM!

"_!_?" Ayako said, flinching in surprise when the door flew open suddenly. Nouhime chuckled softly in amusement. She thought it was funny how jumpy Ayako was, but then again, there was really only one person they knew who seemed to insist on always entering a room that dramatically. It was Nobunaga. Yes, the person who had just thrown open the thin sliding doors, was none other than the man they had just been talking about.

'Geez, it's like he'd got a radar for gossip or something... He always seems to appear whenever someone starts talking about him.' Ayako thought as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. 'I hope he didn't hear any of that...'


	31. The Cat's Out Of The Bag

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_!" Ayako said, flinching in surprise when the door flew open suddenly. Nouhime chuckled softly in amusement. She thought it was funny how jumpy Ayako was, but then again, there was really only one person they knew who seemed to insist on always entering a room that dramatically. It was Nobunaga. Yes, the person who had just thrown open the thin sliding doors, was none other than the man they had just been talking about._

'_Geez, it's like he'd got a radar for gossip or something... He always seems to appear whenever someone starts talking about him.' Ayako thought as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. 'I hope he didn't hear any of that...'_

* * *

><p>"Would it kill you to knock?" Ayako said tartly, trying to cover up her nervousness. She really hoped Nobunaga hadn't heard their conversation. Ayako didn't want him to find out like this—she wanted to tell him herself. Nobunaga smirked. It looked like Ayako wasn't trying to avoid him anymore.<p>

"Why aren't you preparing supper, Onihime?" Nobunaga said bluntly. Ayako stared at him. That's what the big emergency was? Nouhime glanced between the two of them and hid a smile behind her hand. It was obviously an excuse that Nobunaga had made up to give him a reason to be here.

"What do you mean 'why'? I'm keeping Nouhime company. Kasane came in here a few minutes ago before I took my bath. She said supper was done, and Gorouza and the others are serving it now. They should be here any minute." Ayako said. Nobunaga furrowed his brow slightly and frowned.

"If I get sick from that girl's cooking, _you're_ the one I'm going to force to take care of me." Nobunaga deadpanned.

"You're exaggerating. Kasane's gotten a lot better at using the hearth! It's totally edible now." Ayako retorted.

"Hmph, I don't want to hear this from someone who ate a ball of pure wasabi the size of a chestnut—_without_ even needing to take _one_ sip of water afterwards. Your resistance to spice and bad food is inhuman." Nobunaga stated.

"Well, you try having a mother who's only capable of producing _toxic waste_ when she cooks! And I might have a cast iron stomach, but my taste buds are just fine!" Ayako said tartly, a vein mark throbbing on her forehead. Nouhime couldn't take it anymore. She burst out laughing.

"Ahahaha! You two are hilarious!" Nouhime said, her whole body shaking with laughter. "Were you really serious about all that, Onihime?" Ayako crossed her arms and pouted.

"Leave me alone, I had an _interesting_ childhood, okay_!_?" Ayako huffed. "Besides, what's done is done. Like my uncle always says, you're shit(ake mushroom) out of luck."

"Go make us rice balls." Nobunaga ordered. "You might be fine with it, but Nouhime's condition could worsen if she doesn't eat right, and you know you're not going to win this argument with me anyway." He deadpanned as he herded Ayako out the door, and shut it behind her.

"Hey_!_?" Ayako yelled indignantly as she tried to open the door and get back inside the room. Too bad for her, Nobunaga was holding the door shut on the other side. "Fine! But I'm putting wasabi in yours!" Ayako yelled as she stomped off to the kitchen.

"Haha! She really is interesting. I can see why you like her." Nouhime said, laughing as her eyes twinkled in amusement. "How much of our conversation did you hear, by the way?"

"All of it." Nobunaga said bluntly. Nouhime sweat dropped.

"I see, so you heard everything then... and? What do you think about it?" Nouhime asked. "I'm sure you've already made your decision, but just so you know, she's got my seal of approval." She added with a scheming gleam in her eye. It would be much more fun and entertaining with Ayako around.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said, smiling as he closed his eyes and thought about everything he had overheard. Nobunaga considered Nouhime as more of a friend and comrade than a wife, but he didn't see why he'd want any more wives if he had Ayako... Although, Nobunaga knew that he'd have to marry them now whether he really wanted to or not, since it would probably cause some time paradox and erase Ayako's existence if he didn't. There was no way that Nobunaga was letting _that_ happen. Nobunaga opened his eyes and looked at Nouhime. "She's too slow!" He said bluntly.

"I knew you'd say something like that, but you could've said something to her yourself." Nouhime said.

"Hmph, you heard her reasons for not saying anything to me. I knew she was probably worrying unnecessarily about little things like that. If I had approached her first, she would've probably rejected me using them as an excuse. So, I decided to wait until she had overcome those issues and was ready to come to me on her own." Nobunaga said, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. "It was only a matter of time before she fell into my hands." Nouhime smiled wryly.

"Hmph, I feel a little sorry for her. Once you've decided to dig your claws into someone, you never let go. Be careful not to suffocate her. Onihime's a free spirit, and she doesn't realize how selfish you really are. She doesn't know you're giving her a hard time because you're being overprotective and trying to keep her to yourself." Nouhime said, scolding him a little.

"Hmph, you're right about one thing. I have no intention of letting her go, especially not now." Nobunaga said, giving Nouhime a devilish smirk.


	32. Bad News Is Always Followed By Good News

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>{The Next Day}<p>

Nobunaga and his vassals had all gathered together inside and were seated in two rows, facing each other. Nobunaga was seated at the head of them, in the middle on one end, leaning his head on his hand while he held a fan in another and stared at Katsusaburou. The young lord frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. The situation was serious.

"So then, Katsusaburou... You're saying that Nobutomo of Kiyosu, Nobuyasu of Iwakura, and Saito Yoshitatsu of Mino have banded together_!_?" Nobunaga asked sternly. He didn't doubt Katsusaburou, but Nobunaga wanted to be absolutely sure since this could mean war. They had a lot of guts to try to invade Owari.

"—Yes, Sir!" Ikeda said gravely. "I saw them from far off, during the evening, but there's no doubt of it. Those women who have been coming and going from Kiyosu were also there. It seems they may be under Yoshitatsu."

"What_!_?" Hayashi Sado shouted in disbelief.

"Surely not...! We have an alliance with the Saito family!" Nobuyuki said, distressed at the very thought.

"—But if Yoshitatsu is working alone, then it is an entirely believable story." Another man said.

"Mori Sanza." Kawajiri said, slightly surprised.

"You were working under Dousan in Mino until recently." Nobuyuki said, addressing the man called Mori Sanza.

"Yes. I am Mori Sanzaemon Yoshinari." Mori Sanza said. "In Mino, it's well-known that there is discord between Dousan and Yoshitatsu over his birth. There is a particular rumor that lately Yoshitatsu has been gathering his own soldiers."

SLIDE.

The men all turned to look when they heard the doors slide open and heard someone began to speak.

"... It seems... that isn't just a rumor." Nouhime said as Ayako stepped aside once the door was open, giving Nouhime a view of the room.

"Lady Nouhime!" The men shouted in surprise.

"According to my courier... My brother Yoshitatsu has been calling merchants to the castle, and has been ordering large quantities of iron and other materials." Nouhime said, ignoring their surprised outburst. "Truthfully, I also visited some border villages, and heard several stories of Yoshitatsu's soldiers passing through. It seems most likely that it's only a matter of time until he makes his move."

"Hmm..." Hayashi said thoughtfully.

"... But, Lady Nouhime..." Shibata Gonroku Katsuie said, hesitantly. "Why are you in such a state...? Why are you in bed...?" He asked, sweat dropping. Nouhime was very calmly sitting before them, still in her futon, and wearing her haori draped over her shoulders. Behind her were Ayako and Kasane. Nouhime had decided she wanted to be present for the meeting too, but Ayako told her that she still needed to stay in bed. That didn't seem to stop Nouhime though, so they compromised and agreed to bring her there if Nouhime stayed in bed. However, since Ayako's ankle wasn't fully healed yet, she had been pretty much been threatened by Nobunaga not to put any strain on it, other than a little walking, so poor Kasane had had to drag Nouhime and her futon all the way to what Ayako had dubbed 'the command center' by herself. Ayako was now fanning the exhausted and out of breath Kasane, who couldn't do anything, other than kneel at the moment, as she tried to catch her breath.

"She... She's surprisingly heavy..." Kasane gasped softly in between breaths. Ayako sweat dropped and laughed wryly. She had a feeling part of the reason for that was the extra weight from Nouhime's huge boobs. She was surprised Nouhime didn't have back problems because of those things.

"Sorry for making you do that by yourself, thanks for the hard work!" Ayako whispered back.

"Don't mind that, Gonroku! I merely had a small fall." Nouhime deadpanned.

"But if all that is true, then we can't avoid conflict." Nobuyuki said seriously.

"Lord Kanjuuro." Hayashi said.

"We've come this far against Kiyosu's antagonism, but..." Nobuyuki said. Nobunaga's fan made a snapping sound as he closed a fold on his fan. Ayako glanced at Nobunaga. It looked like he was starting to lose his patience. They had been doing nothing but talking in circles. "If Iwakura and Mino are making preparations behind the scenes, then this would be the perfect opportunity for Kiyosu to overpower us in one stroke." Nobuyuki said.

"It is as you say." Hayashi said in agreement. Ayako raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like what Nobuyuki said was wrong, but Hayashi never backed Nobunaga up like that, even when they all knew Nobunaga was right. Nobunaga snapped another fold closed on his fan.

"Everyone, right now..." Nobuyuki said, addressing all the vassals. Ayako raised her other eyebrow now. What was Nobuyuki doing? Was he seriously going to try to instruct _Nobunaga's_ vassals—without even running it by Nobunaga first! "We must increase our defenses—" Nobuyuki said, but he was cut off by a loud sound.

_SNAP!_

Nobunaga had snapped his fan completely shut. He had planned on hearing what the others had to say, but enough was enough.

"Brother." Nobuyuki said, slightly surprised, as he and the others turned to look at Nobunaga.

"Hmph, that's no different than saying to sit tight." Nobunaga stated. "If this is the perfect opportunity for Kiyosu, then it's also to our advantage. If they want to take this 'opportunity' and crush us completely, then it will take Kiyosu's _greatest_ move to do so." Nobunaga explained. "—In which case, with this upcoming battle, we will once and for all decide who which side Owari will fall under. _Now is the time to take hold of Owari!"_ Nobunaga declared boldly as he slammed his hand against the floor in front of him, like a gambler placing a bet in a game of 'Chou-Han.'

"_Yes, Sir!"_ Everyone shouted.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{An hour or so later...}

More men had come to the castle as Nobunaga and his vassals made preparations for the upcoming battle. Ayako, Kasane, and Nouhime could hear them talking amongst themselves since the door to their room was open, so Nouhime could enjoy the fresh air. Despite the serious situation they were in, it was a beautiful day—nice and cool after all the rain they had the previous night.

"So, it really is going to come down to a fight." Ayako said. She had a feeling they wouldn't be able to avoid some sort of conflict, but now her suspicions had been confirmed by Nobunaga's orders. It was a smart decision. While the enemy gathered all their eggs into one basket, thinking they were going to surprise Nobunaga, he was planning to face them head on and smash those eggs with a hammer, settling the conflict between them once and for all.

"Lots of strong looking guys have gathered." Kasane observed.

"Sooner or later, yes." Nouhime said as she polished her naginata. Nouhime wasn't well enough to fight yet, and she doubted that Nobunaga would let her come anyway, since her condition wouldn't allow her to fight to the fullest without endangering her health. But making preparations made her feel better, and it gave her something to do. "But well, it's like Kazusanosuke said. We're going to have to settle things with Kiyosu at some point. Nothing good will come of continuous strife within a province. No matter what they think of us, the people just want peace as quickly as possible."

"Yes, continuing on like this isn't good at all. Not only is it hard on the people, but with the rulers of this province fighting each other, it'll leave us more vulnerable for attacks from outsiders." Ayako said, frowning. "Those guys should just grow up and cooperate with Nobunaga instead of being sore losers because Lord Nobuhide was more popular than them." Nouhime smiled wryly at Ayako. She had hit the nail on the head.

"—I see...!" Kasane said seriously as she realized how serious the situation was. 'I... should also do what I can. Though I doubt I'll be able to take part in the battle.' Kasane thought as she poured out the old water, in the bucket they had in the room, over the side of the wooden porch outside the room. "I'll come back with more water." Kasane said, smiling brightly at the other two women.

"Okay." Nouhime and Ayako said.

"Wait, girl." Kasane heard Nobunaga's commanding voice call out to her as she turned to leave.

"Huh?" Kasane asked as she turned back to look at him.

TONK.

"Ow!" Kasane yelled, surprised when the young lord tossed a sword at her, and it hit her in the head since she was too busy holding the bucket to catch it. It actually hurt a little. Kasane could feel a bump forming on her head as the sword slid off her head and into her hands. "_!_?" Kasane said when she saw the katana that she was holding. There was something familiar about it. "What's this...? A sword...?" Kasane asked, wondering why he was giving it to her.

"We'll be moving out in a few days. Make sure you prepare what you need." Nobunaga ordered Kasane as he turned to leave. "Come, Onihime." He said as he stalked away, letting Ayako know that he wanted her to follow him. Ayako blinked in surprise. What could he want with her now?

"I'll be back soon... probably... See ya'll later." Ayako said as she glanced back at Nouhime and Kasane and left to follow Nobunaga.

"Huh...?" Kasane said, sweat dropping, feeling really confused as she watched Ayako and Nobunaga leave. What just happened?

"... It seems... he intends for you to also go to battle." Nouhime told Kasane after seeing her confusion.

"_What!_? I'm going to be in the middle of it_!_?" Kasane yelled, flinching in shock and surprise.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"... What is it you wanted to speak to me about?" Ayako asked curiously as she walked beside Nobunaga. Nobunaga stopped walking and stared at her.

"Are you planning on riding Eishi into battle?" Nobunaga asked her. Ayako was slightly taken aback by how grave Nobunaga sounded. He was frowning and his brow was furrowed as he looked at her with concern. She could tell he was extremely worried, but then again, who wouldn't be with everything he had on his plate.

"No, I don't want him to get hurt, so I was planning on marching with the foot soldiers since my ankle will be fully healed b the time we leave." Ayako said. Nobunaga's frown deepened when he heard that.

"_No."_ Nobunaga said sternly. He'd been afraid of this. Ayako really had no sense of self-preservation, in his opinion.

"... No?" Ayako asked, confused.

"You are _not_ going into battle that vulnerable—whether your ankle heals or not. If you're not riding Eishi into battle, then I don't want you coming at all." Nobunaga said firmly, the look in his eyes told Ayako he was dead serious about this.

"W-Why..._!_?" Ayako asked, shocked that he would say that. "I'll be fine on foot—that's the way I'm used to fighting anyway, not on the back of a horse—and Eishi could die if he's shot or stabbed with a spear!"

"So could _you._" Nobunaga said sternly, glaring at her. "Eishi will keep you safe, he's a smart horse. If you're just going to insist on endangering yourself, then I _forbid_ you from coming with me." Ayako stared at him in disbelief.

"There's no way I'm going to just sit back while you're risking your life! I'm going, and that's that!" Ayako declared stubbornly, clenching her fists at her side in frustration.

"Why do you insist on putting yourself in danger_!_?" Nobunaga demanded. "Give me one good reason—"

"—Because I love you!" Ayako yelled. Her eyes widened and Ayako slapped her hand over her mouth, shocked by her own actions. How could she just blurt that out_!_? Nobunaga stared at her, stunned. 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God—What did I just do_!_?' Ayako screamed internally. 'I wasn't going to bother him with this until—' Nobunaga grabbed Ayako's wrist and pulled her into his arms, embracing her.

"It's about time." Nobunaga said as he buried his face in her hair. Ayako blushed as she got over her shock.

"N-Nobunaga...? Does this mean you...?" Ayako asked as she tentatively returned Nobunaga's embrace. Nobunaga raised his head and looked down at Ayako, smirking.

"Hmph, what do you think?" Nobunaga said. "You've kept me waiting so long, you'd better be prepared to make it up to me." Ayako blushed cherry red as Nobunaga brushed a stray hair away from her face.

'Wait... why do I get the feeling he started this argument as a trap for me...?' Ayako thought, sweat dropping, as Nobunaga grinned smugly as he held her. The normally wild and stormy young lord was radiating pure happiness at the moment. 'Well, whatever, I guess I can forgive him this time.' Ayako thought, smiling happily as she hugged the man she loved.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Chou-Han is a traditional Japanese gambling game using dice. The game uses two standard six-sided dice, which are shaken in a bamboo cup or bowl by a dealer. The cup is then overturned onto the floor. Players then place their wagers on whether the sum total of numbers showing on the two dice will be "Chō" (even) or "Han" (odd). The dealer then removes the cup, displaying the dice. The winners collect their money. However, it wasn't actually invented until a few centuries after the Sengoku era, so yeah... ^_^; (This info is from Wikipedia BTW.)


	33. The Footsteps Of War

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>{Kiyosu Castle}<p>

"Lord Nobutomo! Lord Nobuyasu!" One of the Kiyosu soldiers said as he knelt before the two lords. All of them were dressed in armor and ready for battle. "The forces invading Nobunaga's territory are attacking strong, and are expected to take the Fukada and Matsuba Castles shortly!"

"I see." Nobutomo said.

"—What incredible strength. Just what you'd expect from Mino's soldiers. To take those castles so easily...!" Nobuyasu said.

"Lord Nobuyasu. It seems the troops commanded by Yoshitatsu have already advanced to the border... hm—Nobunaga will send his troops from Nagoya tomorrow morning... in order to regain the castles we've taken. What happens next is crucial. For Kiyosu, Iwakura... and... Lord Yoshitatsu's soldiers from Mino—I wonder how they'll fare against them..." Nobutomo said. "You'll show us what you can do, won't you..._!_?" He said, thinking about the two young lords, Yoshitatsu and Nobunaga.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Nagoya Castle}

"Do you need help getting yourself armor, Kasane?" Gorouza asked as he sat and sipped his tea. Gorouza had already completed his preparations for the battle tomorrow, so he had decided to check on the girls, but Nouhime and Kasane said that Ayako had gone off somewhere with Nobunaga.

"Thanks Gorouza, but I've got it covered. Nouhime said that I could use hers since she isn't going." Kasane said, smiling. Nouhime smiled wryly.

"It's the least I could do." Nouhime said.

"But I wonder what Ayako's going to do for armor..." Kasane said thoughtfully.

"Hmph, there's no need for you to be concerned about that." Nobunaga said as he stepped into the room with Ayako. Gorouza and Nouhime noticed that he was holding his arm around Ayako's shoulder rather possessively, and Ayako was blushing. They smiled, while Kasane looked confused.

"Eh? Then you already have armor, Ayako?" Kasane asked.

"No, but..." Ayako said, realizing that she hadn't actually asked to borrow any armor yet.

"What kind of man wouldn't provide for his bride." Nobunaga said bluntly, smirking when Ayako's blush deepened and she smiled shyly at the others. Kasane gave them a blank stare.

"... Huh?" Kasane asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Congratulations, my Lord, Ayako!" Gorouza said, smiling.

"Hmph, it's about time! Looks like I have a new 'little sister'. When are you planning on having the wedding?" Nouhime asked, smiling.

"Eh_!_?" Kasane yelled, shocked when she realized what was going on. "Ayako you're getting _m-m-married!_?" Ayako blushed and nodded as she smiled happily, looking every bit the part of a blushing bride. She was positively radiant with happiness.

"Yes, we're having the ceremony right after this battle is over." Ayako said shyly but happily, while Nobunaga was grinning smugly and radiating pride and happiness. He hadn't really left any room for argument on that since it was his condition for having to wait so long to hear Ayako's confession.

"B-But you're still in high school! What about your uncle_!_?" Kasane asked, shocked. Unlike the others, she hadn't seen this coming at all. Ayako smiled a little sadly at the thought of her uncle, but she recovered quickly.

"I regret not being able to let him know that I'm okay, but he'd understand if I could tell him. Besides, he was always teasing me that I'd never get married, so it serves him right!" Ayako said. Kasane sweat dropped. What was wrong with the adults in Ayako's family?

"I-I see... well, as long as you're happy..." Kasane said, smiling wryly.

"Thanks!" Ayako said, smiling brightly. "I'd ask you to be my bridesmaid, but I don't know that much about how Japanese weddings work." She said, smiling apologetically.

"You'd ask me to be your bridesmaid_!_?" Kasane asked excitedly, feeling honored.

"Well, of course. We're friends, aren't we?" Ayako said, smiling.

"Ayako!" Kasane cried, touched as she launched herself at her friend. "_!_?" Kasane said, surprised when Nobunaga stuck his other hand out and stopped her from coming any closer by holding her head and keeping her at arms length. Ayako, Gorouza and Nouhime sweat dropped. Nobunaga really didn't want to share her at all, did he. At least Nobunaga was being nice and using his hand instead of his foot to stop Kasane, since she was Ayako's friend.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Later that evening}

"Hey, is it true you're going to be our lord's second wife_!_?" Kuranosuke demanded as he barged into the kitchen where Gorouza and Ayako were cooking supper. Kasane was staying with Nouhime at the moment.

"Yep." Ayako said excitedly, smiling so radiantly, it would revive an entire field of wilted crops. Kuranosuke shielded his eyes against her blinding radiance.

"Wow~! Congratulations Ayako! You're going to be 'our Lady' soon!" Inuchiyo said excitedly, smiling at her. Ayako blushed shyly as she smiled.

"Oh, cut it out Inuchiyo, I'll still be me. We're friends, you guys don't have to change how you address me." Ayako said.

"Hmph, got that right. 'Onihime' is good enough for that weirdo." Kuranosuke muttered.

"—Except for that one over there. I'll make a special exception for you, Kuranosuke." Ayako said, a vein mark throbbing on her forehead as she smiled.

"There's no way I'll ever accept someone like you becoming a 'Lady'!" Kuranosuke said stubbornly.

"Well, whether you accept it or not, our lord has already accepted her, and sent out a formal announcement." Gorouza said, smiling as he stirred the pot. Kuranosuke went blue with shock.

"F-Formal announcement..._!_?" Kuranosuke stuttered, going blue with shock. That meant this brat really was going to marry Nobunaga... and he had just insulted her! His head could roll for this.

"Wow, he moves fast, huh." Ayako said thoughtfully as she continued chopping the vegetables. Gorouza smiled. Knowing Nobunaga, he had probably already had the announcement letters written up some time ago, and had just been waiting for the day he could send them out.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Early morning, the next day—Nagoya Castle}

"Will you really be fine in that outfit?" Nouhime asked Kasane. "Though you are wearing chainmail under that." Kasane was still wearing her school uniform, but she was wearing Nouhime's arm guards and chainmail underneath it. She also had the sword that Nobunaga had given to her.

"Yeah! I'm pumped! Thanks for letting me borrow all this stuff, Lady Nouhime!" Kasane said.

"Ready to go, Kasane?" Ayako asked as she walked up to them.

"Yeah, let's—! Ayako_!_?" Kasane asked, surprised when she turned around to see a woman wearing light armor and a red oni mask. It looked a lot like a kabuki mask, but it was made out of metal, like most faceplates of the time. The oni's horns and teeth were ceramic, though. Since she really didn't want to endanger Eishi, and trying to fight from on top of a horse would just cramp her style, Ayako had bargained with Nobunaga that if he let her leave Eishi at the castle where he'd be safe, then she would wear more than just chainmail for protection.

"Yep, it's me. Nobunaga's idea... I never should've joked with him about turning me into his mascot." Ayako said, sweat dropping.

"Hmm... I'm surprised he isn't still making you wear that haori." Nouhime said. "But, that mask and armor help you look really intimidating." She said, smiling in approval.

"Yeah... actually, he is, I just wanted to show you guys what I look like without." Ayako said as she pulled the haori out from behind her back and put it on. "See, with this on, I look like a little kid dressed up for Halloween, right, Kasane?"

"Haha, you're right...!" Kasane said, smiling wryly.

"What's 'Halloween'?" Nouhime asked curiously. She thought it sounded like something rather interesting. Ayako smiled and laughed.

"It's my favorite holiday, other than Christmas! I'll tell you all about it when we get back. We've go to go before the others leave us behind. " Ayako said. Nouhime smiled wryly. It was going to kill her to have to wait that long to find out.

"Oh, Alright, come back safely!" Nouhime called after the two girls as they ran off to join the others.

"Yeah! Take care!" Kasane called over her shoulder.

"Thanks for holding down the fort, Nouhime!" Ayako said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Nobunaga's cape rustled in the wind as he sat atop his horse, surveying his troops. Everyone was present, except for the two girls. He frowned slightly. He hadn't missed it when Ayako had taken off the haori right before she slipped off to get Kasane. She'd better be wearing it when she came back. Nobunaga furrowed his brow slightly in irritation. Ayako didn't realize it, but lately she'd been getting prettier and prettier, and he wasn't the only one who had noticed. He had already seen a few of the other men checking her out, even though she was wearing armor.

"Nobunaga!" Ayako called out to him, snapping the young lord out of his thoughts. He stared down at her. Ayako had brought Kasane with her, but more importantly, Ayako _was _wearing his haori again.

'Good. I'd hate to have to shoot someone...' Nobunaga thought. His army was small enough as it was. Ayako sweat dropped and smiled wryly when she sensed Nobunaga's bloodthirsty aura starting to calm down. She was starting to realize how easy it was for him to get jealous... maybe it would be better for all concerned if she just never took the haori off again...


	34. The Battle We Cannot Lose

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>CRUNCH. CRUNCH.<p>

The ground crunched under the feet of Kasane and the others as they marched on. Along the way, Nobunaga's vassals and their troops had meet up with them and joined their ranks.

'I Know that I'd said earlier that I'd be fine, but... I... I'm so nervous..._!_!' Kasane thought as she anxiously clutched her sword and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.

"Ka~sa~ne~!" Ayako said called out to her in a singsong voice as she ran over to her. Ayako had been walking beside Nobunaga as he rode on his horse ahead of the troops, but she had wanted to make sure Kasane was okay. This was their first time going into a real battle after all, and Ayako was full of nervous energy, so she just couldn't make herself stay still in one place for long. She was sure Kasane was nervous as well. Kasane looked relieved to see her.

"Aya—Eeek_!_?" Kasane yelled and jumped about a foot off the ground when she felt someone pat her on the back from behind. She looked over her shoulder to see that it was none other than Gorouza. Like everyone else, he was wearing armor for the battle.

"Good morning." Gorouza greeted them, smiling. He was the very definition of calm at the moment.

"Oh, G-Gorouza! You gave me a scare!" Kasane said, blushing a little out of embarrassment.

"Morning!" Ayako said energetically, smiling. She was feeling as jittery as a June bug on a sugar high.

"What's with that reaction? And how can you move oddly like that?" An armored Kuranosuke asked Kasane as he joined them, raising an eyebrow and sweat dropping.

"Kuranosuke!" Kasane said, surprised that he had snuck up on her too.

"That means..." Kuranosuke said, smirking evilly at her. "You're scared, right_!_?" He said gleefully. "Hmph! Serves you right! Be afraid, be very afraid! And I'll get all the glory!" Kuranosuke said as he stalked away from them with a scheming gleam in his eye.

"Uh..." Kasane said, going slightly blue with shock at how extra brutal Kuranosuke's insults were today.

"What's his problem...?" Ayako asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, don't worry about him, Kasane. People like him always die first in horror movies... Although, I guess this would be more of an action flick if we were in a movie..." Ayako said. Kasane sweat dropped.

'We're marching of to a major battle, and Ayako is worrying about movie genres...?' Kasane thought. "I wish I could be as calm about this situation as you, Ayako." She said.

"Ha! Please, this isn't me calm—I always talk about random things and tend to laugh at inappropriate times when I'm super nervous, like right now. Sarcasm is my natural defense mechanism, and nervous laughter seems to be like a weird tick for me." Ayako explained, smiling and laughing wryly.

"I-I see..." Kasane said, sweat dropping. Well, at least she wasn't alone.

"You'll be fine even without much preparation." Gorouza said, smiling reassuringly at them. "Our duty is to stay by the lord's side and protect him. I'm sure you'll be fine if you stick to your training."

"I will! I'll do my best!" Kasane said enthusiastically.

"That's the spirit!" Ayako said, smiling brightly.

"Ka_t_ane, Ayako, did you eat a full breakfast?" Inuchiyo asked when he suddenly popped up behind Kasane. He looked totally pumped. Ayako sweat dropped. He was still getting Kasane's name wrong.

"Inuchiyo!" Kasane said. "Yeah! Of course, I gobbled it up!" Kasane said.

"Me too! I even had seconds so I'd have more energy." Ayako said.

"Then you'll be fine!" Inuchiyo said, grinning. "Kura said he was too nervous to eat." Kuranosuke flinched.

"Oh, really?" Kasane asked, sweat dropping. 'Why was he so mean to me before, then?' She wondered. Ayako smirked.

"Oh, my~! Does _Kura-chan_ need someone to hold his hand?" Ayako asked patronizingly as she hid her smirk behind her hand. As far as she was concerned, Kuranosuke had brought this one on himself. Kuranosuke spun around to face her, turning an interesting shade of purple from embarrassment and anger. He flinched when he felt a familiar death glare boring a hole into the back of his head. It was definitely their lord. Nobunaga had somehow managed to hear Ayako's comment all the way up ahead of them... and he was _not_ happy about the 'holding hands' part. Kuranosuke paled slightly. He thought he might be in trouble for talking back to Ayako, but when he saw the smug look on her face, he threw caution to the wind.

"As if I'd ever want to! Shut up!" Kuranosuke hissed at her. He froze when he realized what he had just said, but for some reason, he didn't feel like he was in danger anymore. Kuranosuke glanced ahead at Nobunaga. The young lord wasn't even looking at him anymore, and he looked perfectly calm now. Nobunaga didn't feel the need to glare at Kuranosuke anymore, since he hadn't made a move on Ayako. Kuranosuke was beyond confused. He scowled at Inuchiyo. It was all that stupid dog's fault in the first place for exposing him. "It's your first battle, so don't get carried away!" Kuranosuke yelled, vein mark throbbing on his forehead, as he kicked Inuchiyo.

WHAM!

"But it's true!" Inuchiyo pouted as his armor rang like a gong from being kicked.

"That's a nice sound his armor just made." Ayako commented. Kasane sweat dropped, but sighed in relief.

'So, it wasn't just us...' Kasane thought. "... Anyway..." She said. "Kiyosu castle really did make a move, like the lord said would happen."

"Yes." Ayako said. She probably would've been more surprised if Nobunaga had been wrong. Ayako never doubted him for a second.

"True." Gorouza said. "This is likely to be the battle that will decide who will control Owari. Will Kiyosu triumph, and keep the status quo in Owari? Or will lord Nobunaga win and reform it?"

'I can't decide... which way is right, but...' Kasane thought as she gripped her sword. 'I... have decided to do what I can for the lord! And Ayako is going to marry him, so for the sake of my friend, I'll do my best to protect her loved one!" Ayako smiled as she watched Kasane gather her determination. They all had a reason to fight, and a reason to win—a reason why they couldn't lose.

"In that case, all we have to do is win, right?" Ayako said, her eyes shining with determination.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Now that most of Nobunaga's vassals and their troops had joined up with them, Nobunaga had decided to allow them to take a brief rest, and allow the men sometime to take care of any last minute adjustments to their armor or weapons they still needed to make. He also wanted to talk with his vassals, who were also his generals, in a way. Nobunaga wanted to make sure they were all on the same page before they advanced on the enemy. The only one who hadn't come yet was Nobuyuki.

"How you holding up?" Ayako asked Nobunaga as she walked up beside him. She knew this wasn't his first battle, but there was a lot riding on this one for him. Nobunaga smirked at her.

"I should be asking you that. You look pretty nervous to me." Nobunaga teased her.

"Yeah, I'm shaking in my boots, but I always pull through when it counts. I'll be fine." Ayako said, smiling wryly.

"Ayako." Nobunaga said, suddenly extremely serious.

"Yes...?" Ayako asked, wondering what was wrong.

"You told me before that you couldn't be sure you'd be able to take another's life, but if it comes down to a choice between you or them—you'd better choose yourself. If you die, I'll never forgive you." Nobunaga said sternly. Ayako stared up at him. What Nobunaga had said sounded really harsh, but she could tell that he was just worried about her. Ayako smiled softly.

"I remember that I also told you I have no intention of letting myself be killed, nor do I intend to let harm come to the people I care about. I promised you I'd stand by you, so I will. We still haven't had our wedding yet, after all." Ayako said, blushing as she said the last part. Nobunaga smirked as he gently laid his hand on top of her head.

"Hmph, you know just what to say to motivate me, don't you." Nobunaga said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He couldn't wait to get Ayako home and—

"My Lord!" A soldier called out to him. Nobunaga closed his eyes and frowned as his eyebrow twitched in irritation. This had better be important. He removed his hand from Ayako's soft hair, and turned to face the soldier as his brother and Shibata Gonroku knelt in front of him. "Lord Kanjuuro and his troops have arrived from Suemori.

"Then... everyone is present." Nobunaga said. 'Damn. It really was something important.' Nobunaga thought grudgingly. He wouldn't have minded having a little more time with Ayako before he had to get serious. Nobunaga's cape flapped and swirled out dramatically behind him as he turned to address the soldiers. "Now... we will reclaim Matsuba and Fukada castles that were taken by Kiyosu, and meet the combined forces Kiyosu, Iwakura, and Mino, and crush them!" Nobunaga declared boldly. "Nobutomo of Kiyosu Castle as well as the two captured castles in an offensive. Once reinforcements from Iwakura and Mino are taken into account, their fighting strength will be around—Seven thousand!" Nobunaga said bluntly, not bothering to sugar coat the bad news.

"S-Seven thousand_!_?" A few of the soldiers cried in shock, horrified.

"It's likely that most of them are soldiers Saito Yoshitatsu sent from Mino." Nobunaga said as the soldiers began to murmur nervously amongst themselves.

"S-Seven thousand...?" Kasane asked Gorouza nervously.

"Even after we join with Lord Kanjuuro's troops, we won't even be two thousand strong..." Gorouza said.

"In other words... we're no match for them, numerically speaking, at least..." Ayako said thoughtfully.

"Those who think we cannot win, leave immediately. I have absolutely no intention of losing this battle!" Nobunaga commanded when he saw how nervous and flighty the men had become. If they wanted to run away, he'd rather they do it now, instead of in the middle of battle. Nobunaga needed soldiers he could depend on.

"Do you have a plan... to fight so outnumbered? Kawajiri asked.

"The soldiers here will be divided into two groups. A force led by Sakuma and the Takigawas will retake Matsuba and Fukada castles." Nobunaga ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Sakuma and the leader of the Takigawas said.

"Nobuyuki and I will commit our force to stopping the main force from Kiyosu." Nobunaga said. "First we will destroy the bridge."

"Bridge...?" Kasane asked.

"It's the main route of travel between Kiyosu and Nagoya. If the enemy takes the bridge, they will immediately push toward our base at Nagoya castle. With the bridge destroyed, Kiyosu's superior numbers won't be able to move as effectively." Nobunaga said.

"Oooh! Yes, Sir!" The soldiers cheered enthusiastically—all signs of their previous doubt gone.

"I see!" Kasane said, determined.

"**Yippie-ki-yay, mother-effer!" **Ayako cheered. Nothing like a quote from _Die hard_ to get you pumped.

"Nobutomo and the rest want to maintain the status quo. No matter how they come at us, we will not give them Owari!" Nobunaga proclaimed.

"No way I'm gonna lose to anyone!" Kuranosuke muttered darkly as he and the others got psyched up for the battle ahead.

"All troops move out!" Nobunaga ordered, sweeping his arm out dramatically as they all cheered.


	35. Let's Hear It For The Underdogs!

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p>{Kiyosu Army Head Quarters}<p>

"My Lord! Nobunaga and Nobuyuki's troops have begun advancing... on both Matsuba and Fukada Castles, as well as toward Kiyosu Castle." One of the scouts reported urgently.

"Hm. And their numbers?" Nobutomo asked as he adjusted his arm guards.

"Sir! Nobunaga and Nobuyuki's combined forces are not even half of ours." The scout said.

"Hmph, so it turns out that two-thousand is all the strength that fool could drum up." Nobuyasu said, smirking.

"..." Nobutomo said as he considered what this could mean. Unlike Nobuyasu, he had realized it was better not to underestimate Nobunaga. "But Nobunaga's troops are an elite force that's highly mobile. Facing overwhelming numbers like this—They will most likely be coming to steal our route! Bring the horses at once! We're also moving out!" He ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" The scout said as he ran to spread the word.

"Will we take it all, or lose it all?" Nobutomo wondered out loud. "Hurry! We can't allow Nobunaga to make the first move!" He shouted to his soldiers.

"Yes, Sir!" They shouted.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"There it is! The bridge!" Kasane yelled as they all ran towards it. It was _huge_.

"_!_?" Ayako said when she squinted her eyes and took a close look at the bridge.

"What... is that cloud of dust—!" Kasane asked.

RUMBLE.

"That's... the Kiyosu forces!" Ayako yelled as the enemy's army galloped towards them. They were already on the bridge.

"What numbers!" One of their fellow soldiers said, unnerved as he pulled back on his horses reigns to stop it.

"Damn! They read through our plan..._!_?" Another yelled.

"Nobunaga's forces! We have to hold the bridge until Lord Nobutomo arrives!" One of Nobutomo's generals yelled when he saw them. "Archers, aim!" He ordered and the archers stepped forward and took aim.

"Crap! Gorouza!" Ayako yelled, hoping he would understand that meant 'hold up your huge sword so we can jump behind it and use it as a shield!'

"Fire!" The enemy general ordered, and the archers let their arrows fly. Luckily Gorouza had understood 'Ayako speak ' because he _had_ held his sword out to block the arrows, giving the others a chance to dive behind him and his sword as it rained arrows. Ayako looked over at Nobunaga, and was relived to see that he was shielding himself, and that he was safe too.

"Ah! 'Then I guess we'll fight in the shade!'" Ayako said suddenly.

"What—What is it_!_?" Kasane asked.

"I just realized—we're definitely in _**300**_!" Ayako said seriously.

"'_**300**_?' What's that_!_?" Kasane asked.

"It's an American action movie—three hundred Spartan soldiers face off against the inhumanly large Persian army by forcing them to have to funnel through a narrow valley to fight them." Ayako explained. Kasane sweat dropped. They were in a life-threatening situation, and Ayako was _still_ talking movies.

"And, how did this 'movie' end?" Gorouza asked, smiling wryly as he shielded them. Ayako had explained that movies were a type of moving pictures that told a story to them before.

"They all—" Ayako stopped short, realizing that maybe she shouldn't go into too much detail after all. "Well, it wasn't exactly a happy ending, but I'm sure we'll do much better. They didn't have Nobunaga, or us, and that was just a movie." Ayako said, rubbing the back of her neck and smiling wryly. 'Yeah, just a movie... that was based on a historical event that actually happened...' Ayako thought, sweat dropping.

"Was that supposed to be a pep talk, because if so, you suck at them." Kuranosuke said, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"Ugh! We should fall back!" Another soldier said as the others tried to block the arrows with their shields.

"Don't falter now!" Mori Sanza shouted as he urged his horse forward and charged towards the enemy.

"L-Lord Mori...!" The soldiers yelled, concerned.

"Follow me!" Mori Sanza shouted as he leapt from his horse.

_WHAM!_

Mori Sanza slammed his spear down onto an enemy soldier as he landed.

"How can we protect the lord and our families... if we're afraid of a few little arrows_!_?" Mori Sanza yelled at them. "Mori troops, advance!" He ordered his men, who let out a mighty war cry as they followed their commander.

"A-Amazing...!" One of Kawajiri's men said in awe.

"Just what you'd expect of Mino's heroic 'Sanza the Spear.'" Kawajiri said, smiling. "We also cannot lose. Kawajiri troops, back up Sanza!" Kawajiri ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" His soldiers roared as they followed him into the fray.

"Let's go!" Ayako said, as she got up and started running for the bridge with Gorouza and Kuranosuke.

"We're covering the engineer unit!" Kuranosuke told Kasane and Inuchiyo, who hadn't heard the order before.

"Ah! Got it!" Kasane said as she and Inuchiyo turned to follow them.

"Ayako, the water is higher after the recent rain we had, so you should go back to our lord if it comes up to your waist, since it'll be difficult for you to fight." Gorouza told her.

"Is that an order?" Ayako asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yes." Gorouza said, smiling. "From our lord." Ayako sighed.

"... Keep the midget out of the water, right?" Ayako said, sweat dropping.

"Something like that." Gorouza said, smiling wryly.

"Shibata! We will also back them up!" Nobuyuki said.

"Yes, sir!" Shibata replied.

"Listen up, everyone!" Nobuyuki shouted, calling his soldiers to attention. "I swear we will return from this safely. We must not lose even one life." He said seriously. "Understood?" Nobuyuki asked, smiling.

"Yes, Sir!" His men shouted.

"Advance! Hold back the Kiyosu forces!" Nobuyuki ordered. "The engineers are bringing the bridge down! Until we hear the whistle signal, we will hold the line!" He yelled as his troops rushed forward, and the engineers kept hitting the bridge's main support and point of weakness with a battering ram.

"Yo." Ayako deadpanned as she walked up beside Nobunaga's horse. "Come here often?" Nobunaga glanced down at her. Ayako was soaking wet from the waist down. She looked like a petulant kitten that had just escaped from being forcibly given a bath. The corners of Nobunaga's mouth twitched slightly as he suppressed a laugh.

'Don't laugh, this is a serious situation, and you can't afford to have the men misunderstand, and get confused right now—No matter how ridiculous and cute Ayako looks, you can't laugh!' Nobunaga silently told himself. "I take it you were too short to stay in the river?" Nobunaga deadpanned.

"I'm not _that_ short! It's the water that's too high!" Ayako retorted, vein mark throbbing on her forehead.

"Hmph." Nobunaga said, smirking. "I don't care either way, just be sure to stay close to me." Nobunaga ordered.

"Hmph! You couldn't get rid of me if you tried." Ayako huffed, smirking as she took up a defensive position, just in case.

"Ah!" One of the engineers cried in alarm as an enemy soldier charged at them. They all had their hands full with the battering ram, and there was no time to grab a sword. "!" He said, flinching as he waited to be killed.

CLANG!

Kasane jumped in front of him, just in time to block the attack.

"T—Thanks!" He yelled.

"Forget it! Leave this guy to me!" Kasane said, determined to protect them.

"Hurry! Don't stop! With these hands... we will protect our land and the lord!" the other men yelled.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Yoshitatsu grinned ominously as he watched the battle unfold from a distance.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

'The signal...' Mori Sanza thought as he felled another enemy soldier.

'Where is the signal..._!_?' Kawajiri thought as he cut down another. Shibata gripped a chain in his hand and swung.

_FWIP._

"Ugh... Ah...!" An enemy soldier cried as something smashed into the ground before him. Before he could see what it was, Shibata pulled back on the chain, and swung again.

WHAM!

The soldier was struck in the head with the large, spiked metal ball that was attached to the chain Shibata was swinging around.

_WHISTLE._

"!" Shibata said. It was the signal they'd been waiting for.

"Sanza!" Kawajiri yelled.

"Got it!" Sanza said.

"All troops fall back!" The two men yelled together. Their soldiers all yelled and scrambled as they ran to get off the bridge.

CREAK.

The ropes tied around the bridge's joints loosened as the bridge started to lean, and unraveled.

CREAK.

Kasane, Gorouza, Kuranosuke, Inuchiyo, and the engineer unit fell back to a safe distance, and watched as the bridge began to collapse.

CREAK.

A few of the enemy soldiers fell with the bridge as they tried to retreat back to the other side of the bridge, on solid ground.

_CRASH!_

A huge section of the bridge had finally and completely collapsed.

"The... The bridge... has fallen!" They all yelled. "Yeah! Kiyosu's route is cut off!" The troops roared triumphantly.


	36. Fighting A Losing Battle

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

_CRASH!_

_A huge section of the bridge had finally and completely collapsed._

"_The... The bridge... has fallen!" They all yelled. "Yeah! Kiyosu's route is cut off!"_

* * *

><p>"Alright! Everyone did great!" Mori Sanza said, grinning as he rubbed two of his soldiers affectionately on the head, pleased with their hard work.<p>

"Good work." Kawajiri told his men, smiling.

"It was nothing!" One of them said humbly.

"Does that mean we're good here, now?" Kasane asked.

"Yes." Gorouza said, smiling. "Since they have to take another route, we can now choose and prepare favorable terrain to meet Kiyosu on."

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

CLOP.

"Lord Nobutomo! Lord Nobuyasu!" One of the Kiyosu soldiers said in surprise when the two lords arrived on the scene, just moments after the bridge had fallen.

"It's fallen...?" Nobutomo asked.

"My deepest apologies!" The soldier yelled, prostrating himself before them, hoping he wouldn't be punished for his failure.

"Call our engineers at once! We will meet up with Yoshitatsu's troops by another route!" Nobuyasu said.

"Yes, Sir!" the soldier said and left to carry out his orders. The two lords shared a knowing look.

'... But... now—' They thought, remembering what they had planned with Yoshitatsu.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"... Hey, those guys are closely related to you, right...?" Ayako asked as she cupped her hands around her eyes, forming 'hand binoculars.'

"... Yes." Nobunaga said, wondering where she was going with this. "Why are you holding your hands like that...?"

"It helps me focus better on using my eyes to 'zoom in' on stuff that's far away, since it blocks out the unnecessary stuff in the background." Ayako explained. "I bet you take after your mother." Ayako said, lowering her 'binoculars.'

"I do, actually... how did you know? You have never met her." Nobunaga asked. Ayako sweat dropped and smiled wryly.

"It's just that... you look nothing like them. One of them even looks like an Easter Island head. You're too good-looking to be related to them." Ayako said frankly. Nobunaga smirked.

"Oh?" Nobunaga asked slyly, amused when Ayako finally realized that she had basically admitted she thought he was hot, and blushed cherry red. It's not like Ayako didn't think Nobunaga was handsome, she was just too shy to say it out loud... and she didn't want to over-inflate his ego and give him _another_ thing to tease her about.

"Hmph, well at least you have good taste." Nobunaga teased her as he started leading the troops back to their base, so they could run through the next part of his plan and set it into motion. Ayako sweat dropped.

"Wow, you're so _modest_." Ayako deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, hurry it up!" Kuranosuke yelled at Kasane, who was lagging behind. She had unintentionally been staring at Nobunaga and Ayako as they talked. Kasane was amazed at how much more _normal_ Nobunaga seemed when he was with Ayako. He didn't look as evil.

"Y-Yeah!" Kasane said, running to catch up with them. Inuchiyo was behind her, but he stopped when he heard a rustling sound from the reeds nearby. "What is it, Inuchiyo?" Kasane asked when she noticed he was staring at the tall and dense reeds suspiciously.

"_There's something there."_ Inuchiyo said ominously. He didn't know what it was, but he had a feeling it wasn't good.

"Huh...? Something...?" Kasane asked, wondering if he could be more specific.

_RUSTLE!_

All of a sudden several armored soldiers wearing faceplates jumped up out of the reeds they'd been hiding in, waiting for the opportunity to ambush them.

"_What—?"_ Kasane cried in surprise.

"_!_?" The men shouted in surprise as the enemy soldiers charged forward. They were heading straight for Ayako and Nobunaga.

"An ambush..._!_?" Ayako said, startled. She never should have dropped her guard like that. She could tell just from looking at the way they moved that these guys were no pushovers. Ayako switched her hanbo into 'oni clubs' mode and took up a defensive position as she watched her opponents for any signs of weakness. Two other soldiers, who had been the closest to Nobunaga other than Ayako, ran in front of her, hoping to stop them before they could get any closer. There were far too many of them for Ayako to fight on her own.

"My Lord...!" They cried in alarm, hoping Nobunaga would understand their warning and leave. Nobunaga had had his back to his attackers, since they had come up from behind them, but he had already turned, alarmed when he heard Ayako's comment, and realized she was planning on trying to stop them on her own, since the poor soldiers who had tried to warn him had been instantly cut down. Before anyone could even blink, Nobunaga had instinctively reached down and pulled Ayako up off the ground and shielded her.

_CLANG!_

"_!_?" Ayako yelled, surprised and relieved. For a moment, she had feared the worst, but Kasane had somehow managed to reach them and block the blow from the two enemy soldiers that had been aiming for Nobunaga—just in the nick of time. "Kasane!"

"Uhh—!" Kasane grunted from the strain of having to hold back two trained fighters who were nearly twice her size. "I-I'm fine! We have to protect the lord!" Kasane said. "Are you alright, Ayako?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Ayako said, glancing at Nobunaga. 'Why did he pull me out of the way like that? What if they had gotten him_!_? I could've stopped them just as well as Kasane...' She thought. Whatever the reason, she thought Nobunaga deserved a slap upside the head for endangering himself like that. Ayako didn't know what she would do if she lost him... "Nobunaga, let me down so I can help Kasane." Ayako said, determined to do what she could to protect the people she cared about.

"Be careful! That armor is for Yoshitatsu's personal troops! Their skills are supposed to be invincible!" Mori Sanza shouted. Nobunaga had been about to let Ayako down, but he tightened his grip on her when he heard that. Nobunaga knew that Ayako could handle herself, and he needed all the fighters he could get—but he just couldn't let her go. Ayako had become an irreplaceable existence to him, and Nobunaga couldn't stand the though of losing her.

'I should've made her stay behind with Nouhime...' Nobunaga thought.

"Tch! Doesn't mater who the opponent is." Kuranosuke said as he reloaded his gun. "You think I'll let you lay a finger on him..._!_?" He yelled as he aimed his guns and fired at the enemy.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"Look out!" Ayako yelled as another enemy soldier tried to sneak up on Nobunaga.

"Got you!" The enemy soldier yelled as he swung his sword.

_CLANG!_

"Tch!" The enemy clicked his tongue in irritation when Ikeda used his own swords to block the attack.

"Gorouza!" Nobunaga shouted, gripping his horse's reigns. He had to move. This was obviously planned to distract him and buy his enemies time to regroup.

"We're fine. Please go!" Gorouza said as he held back another enemy soldier with his zanbato.

"Catch up soon!" Nobunaga said as he started to leave.

"Yes, Sir!" Gorouza said.

"Wait, Nobunaga, I can—!" Ayako said, trying to get down so she could help the others.

"Nobuyuki! I'll leave the elite troops to you. Hold the line for now!" Nobunaga ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Nobuyuki said.

WHAM!

Gorouza knocked his opponent's sword from his hands, disarming them, as Nobunaga and part of his army left, following their leader to the next point of engagement.

"Nobunaga!" Ayako said, starting to feel frustrated after being ignored and manhandled like that. "I can't fight for you if you don't let me down!"

"Stay close to me for now. Gorouza and the others will be fine—I know you can take care of yourself, but if I can't keep an eye on you, I won't be able to focus." Nobunaga said, as he rode ahead, scanning his surroundings for any sign of the enemy. Ayako bit her lip to silence herself. No matter how much she didn't like that Nobunaga was babysitting her, Ayako knew he was only doing it because he cared—and this was not the time to argue. It was clear that their enemies had planned more thoroughly than they originally thought that they had. Nobunaga needed to be able to focus so he could lead them all safely to victory.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"With Nobunaga's troops ambushed, and the bridge, his only escape route already fallen, he will have no choice but to move his lines back." Yoshitatsu said as he lay in wait for Nobunaga. He could see the young lord of Owari approaching. "And _now..._ The real battle begins." Yoshitatsu said, raising his hand to signal his troops.

_CLOMP. CLOMP. CLOMP._

Nobunaga and his troops charged forward, hoping to unnerve the front line soldiers of Yoshitatsu's large army and scatter them, but they were all calmly watching them charge, not the least bit concerned.

'Something isn't right... their horses don't even look nervous...' Ayako thought. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the sun glint off of a certain metallic object. 'No way..._!_?'

There was a loud echo of the combined clicking sounds as the entire front line of Yoshitatsu's soldiers raised their high-powered rifles and took aim. Nobunaga's eyes widened in surprise as he tried to turn his horse, and get Ayako, who was sitting in front of him, out the direct line of fire. Even if the enemy soldiers were only aiming for him, the rifles of the day weren't exactly known for their accuracy.

"Nobu—!" Ayako started to cry out, but the flash of a familiar raven mane rushing past them, made Ayako's voice catch in her throat. "Ei—_!_?"

"_Fire!"_ Yoshitatsu roared. The bang of all the rifles was deafening as they fired, and the bullets pierced their targets.

_CRUNCH._ NIEGH!

Nobunaga's horse slid to a halt as he reined his horse back under control. He narrowed his eyes as he observed the scene before him. Yoshitatsu and his riflemen had just wasted his _entire_ front line in a matter of seconds... not only that, but...

"E-Eishi... _Eishi!_?" Ayako screamed when she saw the faithful and stubborn horse lying on the ground in front of them, dead. Somehow, the tenacious horse had managed to break out of the stables and follow his master into battle, despite her wish to keep him safe. When Eishi saw that Ayako was in danger, he had thrown himself in front of Nobunaga's own horse, shielding them from the spray of bullets at the cost of his own life. Nobunaga furrowed his brow and frowned as he closed his eyes, taking a brief moment of silence out of respect for the brave horse as he held the trembling Ayako.

"_!_?" One of Nobunaga's remaining soldiers yelled, startled.

"What's... that..._!_?" Another yelled. "I've never seen a heavy cavalry unit using guns... All those troops crossed the river..._!_?"

"That's..." Nobuyuki said, startled when he arrived to see what had happened. "Saito Yoshitatsu...!"

"... I don't care who he is—_Nobody hurts my horse!"_ Ayako said, glaring at Yoshitatsu. "I won't be satisfied till I've beaten him into the dust." She said darkly, her eyes cast in shadow.

Nobuyuki paled slightly. He had never seen Ayako with such a scary look on her face before. Nobuyuki wasn't sure whom he was more afraid of right now—the man with a deadly army armed with high-powered rifles, or a short girl in a demon mask. Nobunaga was relieved that Ayako had pulled herself together instead of falling to pieces. He knew how much Eishi had meant to her, and if she was that set on beating Yoshitatsu into a bloody pulp, he wouldn't really mind holding him down for her while she did. Nobunaga stared at Yoshitatsu, trying to decipher his enemy's next move.

"—My Lord! The Kiyosu forces cut off by the bridge... will soon be here by an alternate route!" One of Nobunaga's soldiers ran up and reported to him. "At this rate... the enemy will encircle us...!" He said as the rest of their army rejoined them.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Lord Yoshitatsu's troops are our strongest forces, equipped with the most modern guns and armor. They won't be well enough prepared to hold out against them...!" Nobutomo said as he and Nobuyasu lead the Kiyosu army to meet up with Yoshitatsu's troops. "—We're winning! Finally, We're going to beat Nobunaga!"


	37. Kiss Seals 2 Souls For A Moment In Time

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"—_My Lord! The Kiyosu forces cut off by the bridge... will soon be here by an alternate route!" One of Nobunaga's soldiers ran up and reported to the young lord. "At this rate... the enemy will encircle us...!" He said as the rest of their army rejoined them._

—_¡–!–¡–!–¡—_

"_Lord Yoshitatsu's troops are our strongest forces, equipped with the most modern guns and armor. They won't be well enough prepared to hold out against them...!" Nobutomo said as he and Nobuyasu lead the Kiyosu army to meet up with Yoshitatsu's troops. "—We're winning! Finally, We're going to beat Nobunaga!"_

* * *

><p>"Second round, ready!" Yoshitatsu ordered. 'How will you get out of this, Kazusanosuke Nobunaga...<em>!<em>?' He wondered as he and Nobunaga stared each other down.

"Brother...!" Nobuyuki said nervously as he glanced at Nobunaga, hoping his brother would have some kind of amazing plan to save them all, like always.

"—..." Nobunaga said as he stared ahead at the enemy. He glanced down at Ayako, who was still sitting in front of him on his horse, and glaring at Yoshitatsu for how his troops had shot Eishi and many of their comrades. Nobunaga could hear Gorouza and the others approaching. He glanced back at them.

"My Lord!" Kasane yelled as she and the three guys came running over. Nobunaga closed his eyes briefly, his decision made. He placed his hand on top of Ayako's head as he opened his eyes.

"... Everyone... Strip out of your armor at once!" Nobunaga ordered as he removed Ayako's mask and saw the stunned expression on her face, just like the ones the rest of his shocked soldiers were wearing.

"_!_?" Ayako said, shocked.

"Why... would we discard our equipment..._!_?" One of the soldiers asked, startled, as the soldiers began talking nervously amongst themselves.

"My Lord, what are you thinking_!_?" Kasane asked urgently. Ayako stared up into Nobunaga's eyes, and her heart throbbed painfully when she realized his intentions.

"_No..."_ Ayako pleaded softly as she grabbed his wrist.

"Hmph, I've made up my mind—" Nobunaga said, avoiding her gaze. He knew she had already figured out what his next words would be, and he hated that it was causing her pain—but he was _not_ going to let any more harm come to her or his strange 'family.' He would do what he had to protect them. "Gorouza... help Ayako down from my horse. I... will be going out alone!" Nobunaga declared, determined to end this bloody battle.

"—Like _hell_ you are!" Ayako yelled, angry and determined, as she clung to Nobunaga when Gorouza came over to help her down. She was _not_ letting him go out there alone!

"My Lord! Ayako is right, we cannot allow you to face such an enemy alo—!" Gorouza said. He froze mid-sentence, shocked, as Nobunaga pulled Ayako into a deep and passionate kiss. Ayako was too stunned to react. You know how people often say that they see fire works when they kiss? Well, in this case—_it was the freaking 4__th__ of July!_ For a girl who was finally getting her first kiss, it was pretty overwhelming... in an awesome way. However, just as Ayako relaxed, closed her eyes, and started to return the kiss, she felt a sharp pressure in the back of her neck, and her vision quickly faded to black as she lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Now that I've caught up to where the manga was last updated, I've decided to include a few one-shots of Ayako's early days in the Sengoku era, and then I'm going to continue the story in my own way... I hope I don't ruin it, but whatever ^_^; I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story!


	38. There Are Two Sides To Every Story

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

_A bright flash of blue light suddenly shot out of the open windows of the storehouse._

_"!" Isshin said in surprise as he started running towards the storehouse, concerned for his niece. "Ayako!" Isshin yelled as he threw open the storehouse's door. The blue light disappeared just as suddenly as it had come, but it wasn't the only thing that was gone. Ayako had disappeared as well. "Ayako…?" Isshin said, stunned. His niece had definitely been in there. One of the shelves had been knocked over. Isshin noticed one of his master's favorite items, an antique wooden box from the Sengoku era, had been smashed in the fall. Isshin knelt down to pick the pieces of the box up, but froze when he saw the contents that had been spill out of it. "This is…! It can't be!" Isshin said, stunned. The key to the lock on that box had been lost long ago, and it's contents forgotten, but now that the box was destroyed, the five hundred-year-old secret it had hidden… had finally been revealed._

* * *

><p>[Right after Ayako was whisked away to the past...]<p>

{April 2011—Saionji Temple, Kyoto}

Isshin stared at the spilled contents of the ancient, now broken, box, shocked. The contents had included a very familiar white ribbon, Ayako's hair ribbon. Only, it had a stain on it that looked suspiciously like faded blood someone had tried to wash out long ago. There was also a cracked and slightly warped compact mirror, a hand bound book that was made the same way they kept the records of the temple bound, and what could only be an extremely worn version of Ayako's cell phone.

"What the _hell_—_!_?" Isshin said, stunned. At first, he had assumed that Ayako had dropped them, but all of the items looked extremely worn and ancient, despite the fact that the cell phone and mirror were definitely modern appliances. They definitely didn't have smart phones and Hello Kitty compact mirrors five hundred years ago, but these items were so old, that the plastic cases of both the mirror _and_ the cell phone had started _flaking_. The battery was also completely dead, despite the fact that he knew Ayako had charged it last night. The cell phones battery was corroded, and covered in a strange green gunk. It was amazing the batter acid hadn't destroyed any of the other items over the years. The most normal thing in the box was probably the book... until you considered the fact that they didn't bind books like this in the Sengoku era. Also, unlike how the books in the temple were bound on the right side, since it made it easier to read the way the Japanese language was read, this book had been bound on the left side—like a western book. Isshin opened the book. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw. There, in a five-hundred-year-old book, was what was undeniably Ayako's handwriting—_in English_. It was a little messy since the words were scratched onto the paper with what was probably some kind of crude quill and ink. Plus, as far as Isshin was concerned, Ayako's handwriting was crappy enough even on a good day. It always looked like chicken scratch, but this was definitely _Ayako's_ chicken scratch. Isshin flipped through it, and saw that she had included sumi ink paintings of different people and places. He really couldn't deny that it belonged to Ayako after seeing the nearly photographic portraits. Ayako's handwriting might've sucked, but her artistic talent was sickeningly amazing, and she had labeled and signed the portraits in the bottom right hand corner, just like she always did... There was also an inscription written in ancient kanji, in the very back of the book, in what was clearly a man's handwriting. It read: _This book is the property of Himura Ayako Louise 'Onihime,' Second wife of Oda Nobunaga. It is now mine since she never returned after her disappearance. This book is to be delivered to the 'smaller' Saionji temple in Kyoto, once it is founded, and handed down to the Himura Isshin described in her writings—Oda Kazusanosuke Nobunaga, Lord of Owari. _Isshin could feel his hair falling out. He flipped back to one of the portraits he had seen before. There he was, a young man with fierce eyes and a wild mane of dark hair was smirking up at him from the page of the book. According to Ayako's label at the bottom of the page, this cocky teenager was Oda Nobunaga, and it was dated _1552_—Tenbun year 21. Isshin hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a migraine coming on from stress and worry for Ayako.

'What in the world have you gotten yourself into now, Ayako..._!_?' Isshin thought.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Isshin-sama! What on earth was that blue light_!_?" One of the more annoying monks, Setsu, asked as Isshin emerged from the storehouse. "Hmph, I'm sure it's just that brat messing around. I don't understand why Isshin-sama bothered to take in such a nuisance." An older monk, that was in his sixties, Shiketsu, muttered rudely. Isshin narrowed his eyes at both of them. Apparently, they had seen it too, but hadn't been concerned enough for Ayako to enter. He wasn't exactly the perfect example of what a virtuous monk should be, but at least Isshin hadn't sat back while a young girl was possibly in danger.

'I'll remember this, you bastards.' Isshin thought as a vein mark throbbed on his head. He wasn't in the mood for their nonsense. "What I pick up or throw away is none of your business. Now, call the police! Ayako is missing." Isshin said sternly.

"What_!_?" They heard Hiroshi cry anxiously as the eighteen-year-old ran up to see what the fuss was about. "Have you checked—" Isshin cut Hiroshi off.

"I'm sure, _now go call the police!_ You're just wasting time standing here." Isshin snapped. He knew Hiroshi was probably just as worried a he was, but he couldn't explain what he had found just yet. Hiroshi, seeing how serious Isshin was, immediately ran into the house to phone the police. If Isshin was worried, then Ayako was probably in serious danger.

"Really, what a problem child... Are you sure that girl didn't just run off somewhere, Isshin-sama?" Shiketsu asked. Isshin glared coldly at the monk. He really had a lot of guts to talk about Ayako like that, especially to his face. Shiketsu was the only monk who was still actively against Ayako being there. The others had grown much more tolerant of her over time, especially once they had her cooking. Shiketsu flinched under Isshin's steely gaze.

"If you look inside the storehouse, you can see clear signs of a struggle. Wherever Ayako is, she didn't go there willingly." Isshin said coldly. "Get back to work, the show's over, you old vulture." He said coldly as he left them to wait with Hiroshi for the policemen to arrive.

"I hope Ayako-kun is alright..." Setsu said, worried. He didn't even what to think about what might happen if Ayako was harmed in anyway... Isshin would probably explode and go on a bloody rampage.

"Hmph, I say good riddance. We should never have let a woman into the temple anyway." Shiketsu said, snobbishly.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"I just can't believe someone took her! If they were strong enough to beat Ayako, they have to be someone really dangerous!" Hiroshi said anxiously as he paced back and forth in the living room. Ayako was like a little sister to him. Isshin was smoking a cigarette... his fifth one in the last ten minutes. If Ayako knew he was relapsing, she would definitely kick up a fuss. She had finally gotten Isshin down to only one pack a week. "And you're not even bothering to hide your smoking—just how bad is it_!_?" Hiroshi asked. He hadn't seen the storehouse, since the local police had been unusually fast in their response to his call. They had swooped in and declared the storehouse off limits until they were done canvassing the 'crime scene.' They had already interviewed everyone at the temple. So, now Isshin and Hiroshi were waiting to hear what the police had to say once they were done.

"There was no blood, so wherever she is, she can't be too badly injured—If that's what you're asking." Isshin said, sounding much calmer than he actually felt. If Isshin's theory on what had happened to Ayako was correct, the cops probably wouldn't be able to find her.

"Isshin-sama." One of the police officers greeted as he entered the room. It was Sasagawa-san, one of their regular worshippers. Ayako had even babysat his children for him a few times. "We've finished inspecting the storehouse. I sorry, but I'm afraid we haven't found much to go on for our search for Ayako-chan." Officer Sasagawa said regretfully. "But I want you to know that we will do everything we can to find her." Isshin nodded his head in thanks.

"Keep me updated." Isshin said. Officer Sasagawa bowed and said goodbye as he left to rejoin his partner and the other police. They had to leave and move onto other calls. "..." Isshin said as he stared after the man. He put his cigarette out and turned to Hiroshi. "Come with me, there's something I want to show you." Isshin told him.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"So, let me get this straight... some of Ayako's things—three items that she always carries around with her—were in a box that's supposedly been sealed for about five hundred years, because the key was lost...?" Hiroshi asked, stunned as he looked at Ayako's mirror, phone, and ribbon, and the book. Isshin had swiped them and hidden them in his monk's robes before he had left the storehouse. It would be awfully hard to explain, after all, and Isshin didn't want them confiscated as evidence before he had a chance to look at everything better. "This stuff looks like it's older than dirt, despite being new technology... What the heck is that supposed to mean..._!_? And where's her wallet?"

"Calm down. Panicking won't help the situation." Isshin said firmly. "—And who cares about her wallet at this point? I only had enough time to flip through the pages, but this is definitely Ayako's handwriting. I'm going to send in a piece of the paper to have Kinoshita take a look at it. Maybe he can date it for us." Kinoshita Masahiro was one of Isshin's old friends who would often analyze different artifacts for the temple and test their authenticity for Isshin, so it wouldn't seem too weird if he asked him for this favor. "Although, I don't know how someone could fake making these things look so old."

"Isshin-sama... you said there was a flash of blue light before Ayako disappeared, right...?" Hiroshi asked thoughtfully as he paced the room.

"Yeah, so? If you keep pacing like that, you're going to wear a hole in the tatami mats." Isshin said, frowning, wondering were the teenager was going with this.

"I know this might sound crazy, but... do you think that maybe, rather that being kidnapped, Ayako was sent back in time somehow?" Hiroshi asked seriously. Isshin stared at him.

"Yeah, you do sound crazy. Maybe you're the one I should be worried about." Isshin deadpanned. Honestly, Isshin was thinking something along the same lines, but it was so crazy, he hadn't wanted to say it out loud until he heard the results from Kinoshita, and if he didn't report his niece's disappearance, it could look suspicious and possibly let the people who had her get away if he was wrong. Plus, teasing Hiroshi was a good stress reliever.

"Just hear me out, okay_!_? We have items that Ayako _always_ carries around with her, and they've suddenly and inexplicable aged—not to mention they were locked in side of a box that's been sealed for hundreds of years—And a lot of sci-fi movies use a bright blue light when a character travels back in time!" Hiroshi explained. He had watched a lot of American movies with Ayako over the years, and they tended to be flashy.

"... So, basically, you're basing your theory on Hollywood's special effects, _really_?" Isshin said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. Hiroshi sweat dropped and rubbed the back of his head. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned that part. "Well, whatever. We'll know soon enough once Kinoshita analyzes this. I'll send a piece of one of the pages that doesn't have her handwriting on it." Isshin glanced at the book. 'While I'm waiting, I might as well see what she wrote... maybe it'll give me a clue about what happened to her...' He thought.


	39. Culture Shock

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar. __**It will be in bold if it's English.**_

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_... So, basically, you're basing your theory on Hollywood's special effects, really?" Isshin said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. Hiroshi sweat dropped and rubbed the back of his head. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned that part. "Well, whatever. We'll know soon enough once Kinoshita analyzes this. I'll send a piece of one of the pages that doesn't have her handwriting on it." Isshin glanced at the book. 'While I'm waiting, I might as well see what she wrote... maybe it'll give me a clue about what happened to her...' He thought._

* * *

><p>{April 2011—Saionji Temple, Kyoto}<p>

"Yeah, just let me know as soon as you're done analyzing it. Later, Kinoshita." Isshin said as he hung up the phone back on its base on the kitchen wall. Like everything else in the house, it was old, and still had a chord, so you had to stand in the kitchen to use it. He had just sent Hiroshi to deliver the sample of a page from Ayako's diary for Kinoshita to test, but he had decided to call ahead and let the other man know Hiroshi was coming, just in case. Isshin ran a hand through his hair and sighed. 'I guess I'll get started reading it while I'm waiting for the results...' He thought. Luckily Isshin had taken care of his major chores for the day, and the other monks were preoccupied with taking care of the chores Ayako usually did, so he should have a few rare moments of peace until they finished and Hiroshi returned from his errand. It's a good thing Hiroshi didn't have school today, because Isshin hated having to go up and down the temple's long staircase. Well, that's the price you pay for being a chain smoker—you have trouble breathing when stairs are involved. At least it was getting better, now that Ayako had finally managed to get him to start quitting. Isshin entered his room and closed the door behind him, before picking up Ayako's diary and getting comfortable as he sat down to read the short novel she had written. Isshin was glad now that he had bothered to learn how to speak _and_ read English so that he could communicate better with Ayako when she first came to live with them and didn't know any Japanese other than 'hello' and 'goodbye.' Isshin turned to the first page and began reading.

_**April 1552  
>Nagoya Castle, Owari<br>Dear Uncle Isshin,  
>I'm sorry for suddenly disappearing like that, but it was a complete accident! I swear! I was some how transported back to the Sengoku era after touching a bamboo walking stick that had a round blue charm tied to it. I've tried everything I could think of to get it to bring me back—even saying 'abracadabra' if you can believe it. (-_-;) Anyway, since it doesn't look like I'll be able to come home any time soon, I've decided to start writing down everything that's happened to me in this journal I made, just in case I can't get back. At least, this way you'll know what happened to me. I'm actually writing this on my third day in the Sengoku era, but I'm going to include my first two days too, so don't worry. (^-^) I'm sorry it's in English, but I didn't want just anybody to be able to pick it up and read it. I hope you guys are doing alright, and Hiroshi isn't freaking out to much... I'm sorry if he is. You can show him this if you think it'll calm him down. Just don't hit him with your harisen—he has enough brain damage from that as it is.<br>Love,  
>Ayako<strong>_

'Hmph, so she left this specifically for me...' Isshin thought as he turned to the next page. He was glad she had thought of him, but he hoped Ayako was putting just as much effort into getting back home as she had writing this.

_**My first day in the Sengoku era was pretty nerve wrecking. I forgot to mention this before, but I'm actually staying here as one of Nobunaga's soldiers—Surprise! \(^o^;)/ I somehow had the luck of appearing right in front of him when I slipped back in time, so he knows the truth about me and believes me. I also managed to convince him that being his Sengoku era 'cheat sheet' was NOT a good idea, so no worries there. He looks pretty evil for a nineteen-year-old, but he's actually a pretty good guy, just strict. In exchange for room and board, I have to do a whole bunch of chores, but it's not that much different from what I do back home, so I think I can handle it. Anyway, my first day went something like this...**_

=Flashback mode=

"Lord Nobunaga, as you have said, I currently have no way to return to my home and nowhere else to go. You have already done me a huge favor by offering me a place to stay, but I have one more favor to ask of you… Please allow me to serve as a soldier." Ayako said, bowing respectfully as she waited for the young lord to answer her. This girl just continued to surprise him.

"… You mean to say you will become a citizen of this province?" Nobunaga asked.

"No, I won't." Ayako said frankly. "I still haven't given up on finding a way to return to my own time yet, and I don't want to just live on your mercy. I was raised on the principle that 'those who don't work, don't eat.' So that I don't lose sight of my goal, or myself, and to live in this world, I will fight. I will gladly work to earn my keep, and I am fully aware of what following you into war will mean. In these turbulent times, even those who do not wield a sword can still die upon one. Since that is the case, I would rather fight than live in fear. However, it is against my religion to kill, so I cannot guarantee that I will be able to take a life on command, but I have no intention of letting myself be killed, nor do I intend to let harm come to the people I view as comrades. I will not hesitate to come to your aid. If you can accept these terms, then you can consider me your ally." Ayako said, looking up at the lord of Owari as she spoke. Nobunaga could see the resolve and determination burning in her eyes. Nobunaga stared at Ayako, contemplating her words.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said, laughing in amusement and smirking like the Cheshire cat. "Interesting, I'll look forward to seeing what you can do."

'Eh…? Why do I feel like I just sold my soul…' Ayako thought a little nervously. No matter, she wouldn't go back on her word. Ayako smirked back at him. "Just don't be too surprised when you do." Ayako said, smiling cheekily.

SLAM!

Ayako jumped, startled when the sliding doors of Nobunaga's room flew open, and three boys, close to her age came rushing in.

"My Lord, we heard a strange noise, are you alright_!_?" Gorouza asked. Ayako thought he was really pretty for a guy. He added a whole knew level to the word 'bishounen.'

"Look, Gorouza! There's a suspiciously weird girl here." Kuranosuke said as he pointed his gun in between her eyes. Ayako blinked in confusion and held her hands in the air on reflex, since that's usually what people were supposed to do when a gun was pointed at them.

"Whoa! Watch where you're pointing that thing." Ayako said, sweat dropping.

"Hey, hey! Who's that girl?" Inuchiyo asked curiously. Ayako didn't seem very dangerous to him.

"Isn't it obvious, she must be an assassin!" Kuranosuke said. Ayako raised an eyebrow. Did she really look like a coldblooded killer to them? She glanced at Nobunaga, who looked more amused than anything. Ayako sweat dropped. She had a feeling he wouldn't let her die, but he wasn't going to help her out of this situation just yet either.

"Look, this is just a misunderstanding... I'm not a—" Ayako tried to explain, but Kuranosuke cut her off.

"And are you sure she's a girl? Her chest's so flat, it could just be a feminine boy. Look at those strange hakama they're wearing." Kuranosuke said bluntly as he pointed at her cargo jeans, his words stabbing her. Ayako hung her head, casting her eyes in shadow.

"It's true that I'm only an A-cup, but I'm still a growing girl, and besides... _there are just some things you just shouldn't say!_" Ayako said lowly, but it turned into an angry yell at the end when she snapped, vein mark throbbing on her head, and grabbed Kuranosuke's gun, twisted it out of his hand, and tossed it to the side as she head butted him.

"_!_?" The three boys said in surprise when Kuranosuke hit the floor, holding his head. Nobunaga smirked. It was good to know it wasn't a lie that she could fight. Ayako stood over Kuranosuke, cracking her knuckles and scowling at him.

"I might be a tomboy, but I'm 100% female! I'm not an assassin, but if you laugh at a 'slender-bodied' girl, you'll get burned—remember that!" Ayako said darkly. Gorouza sweat dropped. It had been totally obvious that Ayako was a girl, despite her strange clothes, and since Nobunaga had been standing there calmly the whole time, she must not be an enemy... or at least she wasn't before Kuranosuke insulted her.

"Please, forgive Kuranosuke. He's suspicious of everybody when he first meets them. It's clear you're not an assassin, but would you mind telling us who you are?" Gorouza said, smiling politely.

"Oh, I'm Himura Ayako Louise, but you can just call me Ayako. I'm not from around here, so I got a little lost and some how ended up here. The lord was kind enough to allow me to stay here in exchange for working for him." Ayako said, sweat dropping and rubbing the back of her neck. She hoped they bought it. Gorouza looked a little skeptical, and Kuranosuke had blatant disbelief written all over his face. Well, after being hit like that, she didn't think he'd be her biggest fan.

"Oh, so that's why you look so strange! You're a foreigner." Inuchiyo said, smiling. "Nice to meet you, Ayako. I'm Inuchiyo, and That's Gorouza and Kuranosuke!" He said, introducing himself and pointing to the other two.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you, too." Ayako said, smiling and bowing politely.

"Hmph, you said you were going to work here—what kind of work? Cleaning?" Kuranosuke said, grinning evilly. If it was cleaning, he'd be sure to leave behind a big mess for her to clean up. Ayako glanced curiously at Nobunaga. He hadn't actually told her what her specific job would be.

"Hmph, that's part of it." Nobunaga said. "She'll be doing a lot of odd jobs around the castle, but she's primarily going to be working with you three as a fighter." Inuchiyo and Gorouza looked a little surprised. Kuranosuke froze in shock. No way was he working with that she-devil!

"What..._!_?" Kuranosuke asked, unable to contain his surprise.

"Wow, you must be strong if our lord is letting you fight~!" Inuchiyo said cheerfully. "You want to spar with me?"

"Why don't we help her get settled in first?" Gorouza suggested, smiling. It was unusual for a woman to be a warrior, but Nobunaga was a good judge of character, so she must have something special for him to have let her join them.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Later that night}

Ayako sighed as she flopped down onto the futon they had supplied her with. Since she was a woman, it would've been inappropriate for her to share one of the rooms with the guys, so Ayako had been given a small room of her own. It was the size of a large closet, but Ayako didn't mind since she was able to have some privacy. It had been a long, physically and mentally exhausting day. After Gorouza and the others had given her a tour of the castle, Nobunaga had wasted no time in putting her to work on a whole bunch of miscellaneous chores. Ayako had just finished, and was ready to get some well-deserved rest.

'At least it didn't give me any time to get depressed about my situation here...' Ayako thought as she started to drift off to sleep.

WHAM!

Ayako bolted upright in surprise when the doors to her room suddenly slid open. Didn't anyone knock in this place? Nobunaga entered her room, holding a bundle of clothes. He had offered to give her one free outfit so she could blend in better, and Ayako had asked for men's clothes since she planned on fighting, and she didn't want to accidentally flash anyone if her kimono flipped up on her while she was fighting.

"Here, you can wear these to blend in better." Nobunaga said as he tossed the bundle at her.

"Thanks." Ayako said as she caught them. "I really appreciate this, but... could you maybe knock first before you come in next time? What if I'm in the middle of changing or something? I could be naked." She said, sweat dropping, slightly chagrined.

"Hmph, it's not like I don't know what a naked woman looks like. I don't see what the big deal is." Nobunaga said carelessly.

"!" Ayako said, blushing bright red in embarrassment. "It's a big deal to _me_! I don't care if you know what women look like already— you don't need to know what _I_ look like! I don't care who you are, if you come in while I'm not decent, I'll punch you so hard your ancestors will feel it!" Ayako said indignantly. Nobunaga smirked. This girl had a lot of guts to threaten him like that. It also seemed like he had discovered a major weak point of hers. It would seem she was extremely shy when it came to this type of topic.

"You should be careful what you say to people here. I don't know how things work in your world, but after a threat like that, I'd have every right to throw you into a jail cell and let you rot." Nobunaga warned her. He wanted to see how she would react to that. Ayako looked a little startled, but she recovered quickly.

"Go ahead, and try it. If standing up for myself is a crime, I'd rather be a criminal than a human doormat. I'll just have to find a way to escape if you do." Ayako said, determined not to give in. "And, just so you know, where I come from people are allowed to talk to and about their leaders this way, without fear of punishment. Of course, if someone threatens to kill them, then that's another story entirely, but you get the point. Our leaders are there to represent the people and serve them. We're not their property, and they aren't ours. That's why we have a law protecting freedom of speech. If we don't like something, we let them know instead of biting our tongues. We don't have any nobles in the country I was born in either." She added. Ayako had been born and raised in America before she started living with her uncle, after all. Nobunaga stared at her thoughtfully. If that was true, then she wasn't necessarily being as rude as she had come across as on purpose. She was just treating him like a ruler in her own world. It was actually refreshing in away, hearing someone's honest opinion instead of having to make sure their words didn't have any hidden meaning or having people go along with you just because you were their superior and they were afraid to speak up.

"H-How dare you talk to our lord like that..._!_?" Kuranosuke said incredulously as he burst into the room, bristling like a cat that had been thrown into a tub of water. He and the others had been coming to check on her. Gorouza had suggested eating with her, since he thought it would help them bond more. Gorouza sweat dropped. Inuchiyo looked stunned. "You'd better bow down 'til your nose touches the floor and beg for forgiveness!" Kuranosuke snapped. Honestly, he wouldn't mind seeing her get in trouble after being head butted by her. That had been both painful and embarrassing. Ayako raised an eyebrow at him.

'Is he still holding a grudge over me head butting him...? I've already forgiven him for calling me a tranny.' Ayako thought. Gorouza and Inuchiyo glanced at Nobunaga to see her reaction. He didn't look the least bit upset. He looked more amused and impressed than anything. Ayako sighed resignedly and bowed down, forming a triangle with her hands as she touched her forehead to them, bowing all the way down, so that her nose was in the triangle.

"Please, forgive me for having a spine, Lord Nobunaga. I'll try to only sass that shortie over there from now on." Ayako said in a very patronizing tone. Though her words made it sound as though she were addressing Nobunaga, it was obvious they were really aimed at Kuranosuke.

"You wanna fight, girl_!_?" Kuranosuke yelled angrily, a vein mark throbbing on his forehead as Inuchiyo and Gorouza held him back.

"Now, now. You did start it, after all." Gorouza told Kuranosuke, sweat dropping and smiling wryly. He didn't know whether this girl was brave or just had a death wish to be sassing Nobunaga like that. He noticed that Nobunaga was looking more and more amused by the moment, though. She was probably safe for now.

"Hmph. That's a nice bow you have there. For someone so proud, you sure are good at the type of bow that's used for _begging_ for forgiveness." Nobunaga teased her, smirking. Ayako gave him a brilliant shit-eating grin.

"Well, it's important to have the correct posture for this particular bow. After all, Hiroshi-kun, my uncle's apprentice of sorts, warned me that if you don't make a triangle with your hands like this to cradle your nose, it'll break if the person you're apologizing to decides to step on your head." Ayako said brightly.

"..." Nobunaga, Gorouza, and Kuranosuke said as they stared at her. Just what kind of place did she come from?

'Well, It's not like what they told her isn't true.' Nobunaga thought, shrugging mentally. Some of his vassals had learned that the hard way when they got a bloody nose after he did just that to them for screwing up, and they smashed their noses into the floor.

"Oh, so that's why you're supposed to hold your hands like that!" Inuchiyo said, amazed, as he imitated the way Ayako had made a triangle with her hands.

"No, that's not normally something you'd have to worry about..." Gorouza said, sweat dropping. Obviously, he had never been on the receiving end of one of Nobunaga's more severe scoldings.

"Just what kind of person was this uncle of yours...? He sound pretty violent." Kuranosuke asked, sweat dropping too. He was starting to understand why she might've reacted so violently before now...

"Yep. My uncle Isshin is the head priest of a temple." Ayako said, smiling.

"..." They all said. Just what kind of hellish temple was he running?

"Anyway, thanks for the clothes. Oh! I just realized, I don't think my tour covered what to do for bathing." Ayako said, realizing she was still covered in dust from the storehouse. "What do you guys do for bathing around here?" She asked.

"You mean, you don't even know how to maintain your basic hygiene? No wonder you're so dirty." Kuranosuke said, holding his nose.

"I obviously _do_ know, or I wouldn't even know what a bath was, now would I?" Ayako said, chagrined. "And don't even pretend I smell, I took a bath just this morning. This is just dust."

"Now, now. I'll be happy to explain the bathing facilities here to you, Ayako. We are very fortunate because our lord has a bathhouse in this castle that he allows everyone to use." Gorouza said.

"A bathhouse_!_? For real_!_? Is it a hot springs_!_?" Ayako asked excitedly, eyes sparkling with hope and anticipation. She hadn't thought they'd have an actual bathhouse of any kind in this era. It almost sounded too good to be true.

"Yes, it is. I was planning on going after supper anyway, so we can go together then, and I'll show you how everything is set up." Gorouza said, smiling.

"Huh? But... aren't you a guy, Gorouza? Is it alright for you to be in the women's bath?" Ayako asked, confused. Gorouza smiled at Ayako, happy that she hadn't mistaken him for a woman, like most people seemed to, but he wondered why she had assumed there was more than one bath.

"Yes, it's not a problem." Gorouza said. "You see—"

"It's a normal _mixed_ bath." Nobunaga said bluntly. They watched as Ayako froze, still smiling, but obviously shocked.

"Eh? Haha, don't joke with me like that! You said it so seriously, I almost believed it." Ayako said, going into denial, refusing to let her hopes of enjoying a bath be crushed.

"Well, there's only one bath, you see, but it's huge, so there's enough room for everyone." Inuchiyo said cheerfully. Ayako's smile faltered slightly.

"But there's a divider or something for privacy, right?" Ayako asked.

"Nope." Nobunaga deadpanned. Ayako's jaw dropped in shock. Being raised in America, where people didn't bath together unless they were little kids who were too young to know anything, it had taken her quite a while to get used to sharing the public baths just with other women—There was _no way_ she was getting naked in front of a bunch of _men_—not to mention that she didn't want to see _them_.

"I-Is that so...?" Ayako said, sweating nervously as she avoided their gaze, blushing out of embarrassment. "On second thought, skipping a bath for just one night isn't that big of a deal—Good nigh!" Ayako said as she tried to hide under the covers on her futon, hoping they'd let it go.

"Eh? Are you sure?" Gorouza asked, not understanding why she was hesitating. It actually wasn't that uncommon for men and women to bath together in this era, since they had only actually started separating men and women's bathing facilities after being influenced by the western countries and their values. Nobunaga's eyes gleamed mischievously as he realized what her problem was. Ayako made such a big deal about maintaining her modesty before, so she was probably just too embarrassed to bath in front of so many strangers, especially men.

"_!_?" Ayako cried in surprise when she felt someone pull her out of the futon by her ankles, and they started dragging her out of the room. Ayako could see the surprised faces of Gorouza, Kuranosuke, and Inuchiyo, so it could only be one person—_Nobunaga_.

"That's not good. It's important to bath daily." Nobunaga said, smirking evilly as he dragged the struggling Ayako to her doom.

"**No!"** Ayako yelled desperately as she grabbed onto the door frame, refusing to let go. "I refuse! You can't make me!" She yelled as Nobunaga tried to pry her off the door. Gorouza sweat dropped as he watched. It was so obvious that Nobunaga was having fun harassing her.

"What's the big deal? It's just a bath. You seemed eager enough before." Kuranosuke deadpanned, not having any sympathy for her.

"B-But it's mixed!" Ayako protested. "If a man sees me naked—_I can't be a bride anymore!"_ Ayako cried dramatically. Gorouza and Kuranosuke sweat dropped.

"Why not?" Inuchiyo asked curiously.

"_I just can't, okay!_?" Ayako yelled anxiously as Nobunaga grabbed her legs again and pulled.

"Don't worry, if that happens, I'll take responsibility." Nobunaga deadpanned. "... I can see your underwear."

"_!_?" Ayako shrieked as she immediately let go of the door and tried to hold her skirt down so Nobunaga wouldn't see anymore, but there were two problems with that—One, she wasn't wearing a skirt... Ayako had forgotten that she was wearing pants, so there was no way Nobunaga could really see her underwear. Two, when Ayako let go of the door, gravity came into effect and caused her unshielded head to fall down and slam into the floor with a rather impressive thump.

"... _Ow_..." Ayako said, sweat dropping. She felt like an idiot.

"Oh, my!" Gorouza said as he rushed over to check on her.

"Are you okay_!_?" Inuchiyo asked her.

"Tch, she's still alive, huh." Kuranosuke muttered.

"I heard that, you vertically challenged jerk!" Ayako snapped, a vein mark throbbing on her aching head.

"Once we get to the bathhouse, I'm going to drown you!" Kuranosuke roared as Inuchiyo held him back again. "Let me go, you stupid dog!"

"..." Nobunaga said, as he stared down at Ayako, who was still scowling at Kuranosuke as she rubbed the bump that was starting to form on her head, still holding onto her legs. He had said that hoping Ayako would panic and let go of the door, but he hadn't expected her to be stupid enough to try to shield her body instead of her head when she fell. Ayako realized Nobunaga was staring really intensely at her. She sweat dropped.

"W-What is it?" She asked, suddenly feeling defensive. Nobunaga decided she wasn't seriously injured, and picked her up, tucking her under one of his arms, like she was nothing more than a rag doll and started walking out of the room, and the others followed him. "Wait—!"

"We're just going to get supper... you're lighter than you look." Nobunaga said. Ayako flinched in shock.

"Are you saying I look _fat!_?" Ayako asked incredulously.

"Gorouza, after supper, put up a few screens in one of the corners to block it off, and put a medium sized tub in there. Show her how to draw water from the well, and how the bathhouse works, in case she changes her mind." Nobunaga said. He decided it might be better to make a small concession, since Ayako was willing to allow herself to be injured to preserve her modesty. "And Kuranosuke... don't drown her."

"Tch." Kuranosuke said, looking a little _too_ disappointed. Ayako sighed. So much for making a good impression on her new co-workers... well, whatever.

"So, What's for supper?" Ayako asked, smiling wryly.


	40. Pick Your Poison

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar. __**It will be in bold if it's English.**_

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_We're just going to get supper... you're lighter than you look." Nobunaga said. Ayako flinched in shock._

"_Are you saying I look fat!" Ayako asked incredulously._

"_Gorouza, after supper, put up a few screens in one of the corners to block it off, and put a medium sized tub in there. Show her how to draw water from the well, and how the bathhouse works, in case she changes her mind." Nobunaga said. He decided it might be better to make a small concession, since Ayako was willing to allow herself to be injured to preserve her modesty. "And Kuranosuke... don't drown her."_

"_Tch." Kuranosuke said, looking a little too disappointed. Ayako sighed. So much for making a good impression on her new co-workers... well, whatever._

"_So, What's for supper?" Ayako asked, smiling wryly._

* * *

><p>"Ah, this smells great!" Gorouza said as they sat down to eat. While they were getting Ayako, someone had already brought the food to Nobunaga's room. The four guys often ate together, since it gave them time to relax and exchange information with Nobunaga at the end of the day before they retired.<p>

"Itadakimasu." Ayako said as she took a bite of the tofu in the miso soup.

"Yay, it's miso soup and rice today!" Inuchiyo said happily. Gorouza and Kuranosuke sweat dropped. Nobunaga was about to eat a piece of tofu too, but Ayako knocked it out of his hand.

"Don't!" Ayako yelled. They all stared at her, shocked. "There's something weird about the soup." She said, looking pale. Ayako held a hand over her mouth as she ran from the room. The men all exchanged glances. Gorouza glanced at the soup.

"You don't think it was poisoned... do you?" Gorouza said, worried. Nobunaga stood up and followed after Ayako. They heard someone making a retching sound, and saw Ayako leaning over the side of the porch, vomiting onto the ground bellow. She had only just managed to make it out of the room before she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"_!_?" Gorouza, Kuranosuke, Inuchiyo said, shocked and horrified. Nobunaga knelt down beside her as Ayako wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her vomiting fit was over.

"Ugh... well, that was unpleasant." Ayako said, grimacing.

"What did the soup taste like?" Nobunaga demanded. He needed to see if they could determine what type of poison it was, in case Ayako needed an antidote.

"It was sweeter than usual... but I think that's really the only thing that stood out about the taste. I knew something was wrong when I started feeling ill. My mom was a _horrible_ cook, so I don't usually get sick from food, unless there's something _seriously_ wrong with it." Ayako said as she lay down on the porch. "Ugh... I feel a little dizzy... could I have some water?"

"I'll go get it!" Inuchiyo said and ran off to fetch her some water.

"That sounds like it could be poisoning from an oleander... could someone have put a few leaves into the soup when it was being cooked?" Gorouza said.

"If they had, the people who have already eaten would've gotten sick... Who was it that had cooking duty today, and who brought the food?" Nobunaga asked.

"I'll go find out." Kuranosuke said and ran off to hunt the culprit down.

"I'll go get a doctor." Gorouza said, also rushing off.

"...That soup was meant for you, wasn't it?" Ayako asked weakly as she stayed slumped on the porch. She felt like crap. "I hope I don't die, that would really suck."

"I don't think you're going to die. You probably managed to purge the poison from your body before too much of it was absorbed, and you only had that small piece of tofu to begin with." Nobunaga said calmly as he sat beside her. "But you're right, that poison was probably meant for me. All five of those bowls have probably been poisoned to ensure that I would end up consuming it."

"Oh, well at least none of us are going to die then..." Ayako said. "... I think I'm going to pass out now, if that's okay with you."

"Hmph, I'm surprised you didn't do it sooner." Nobunaga said as Ayako closed her eyes and went completely limp once she was unconscious, but it was clear that she was still breathing, so Nobunaga wasn't too worried.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

[Ayako's second day in the Sengoku era]

Ayako groaned as she opened her eyes and held her aching head.

"Ah, she's awake!" Inuchiyo said as he hovered over her.

"!" Ayako said, surprised.

"Inuchiyo, give her some space. Ayako is still recovering from being poisoned." Gorouza said. "How are you feeling, Ayako?" He asked her. Ayako blinked.

'Ah... that's right, I ate poison soup yesterday...' Ayako thought as she remembered what had happened the previous day. "Pretty good, all things considered... I guess." She said, as she slowly sat up. "I'm really thirsty though... and still dusty. Once I'm not dehydrated anymore, I should probably take a bath."

"Hmph, you're lucky to be alive. The doctor said the soup that was served to us was laced with a lethal dose." Kuranosuke muttered. He still thought Ayako was annoying, but he had a little more respect for her, now that she had saved Nobunaga, and his friends' lives.

"Wow, you're pretty strong, Ayako." Inuchiyo said, impressed. "Even I would've been in trouble if I'd eaten that."

"Really? Well, I've always been a fast healer... So, I guess it's a good thing I'm the one who ate it..." Ayako said, smiling wryly.

"I'll go get you some water." Gorouza said as he got up and left the room.

"Thanks." Ayako said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"My Lord, I heard someone tried to poison you last night! Are you alright_!_?" Hayashi asked anxiously. Nobunaga glanced at the ugly duckling before picking up one of his cats, which had wandered into the room, and holding it.

"As you can see, I'm fine. The strange girl I took in thwarted the attempt. She realized something was wrong with it, and slapped the chopsticks out of my hand before I could even take a bite. She had already consumed some of the poison, but she was fortunate enough to have consumed a non-lethal dose." Nobunaga said as he pet one of his cats. It was the one that had been there when Ayako had 'arrived' the other day.

"Ah, yes! That was one of the things I had wished to discuss with you." Hayashi said. "I was concerned when I had heard you took in a suspicious girl, but it seems it was a wise choice. Perhaps you should consider making her your personal poison tester, since it seems she has a strong constitution." Hayashi was also amazed that someone had dared to slap Nobunaga's hand. Nobunaga narrowed his eyes at Hayashi.

"Hayashi... are you suggesting I repay her by ordering her to face death every time she picks up a pair of chopsticks?" Nobunaga asked, angry that Hayashi would suggest such a thing. People's lives weren't disposable things to just be thrown away at your own convenience. Hayashi paled slightly, realizing his mistake when he saw that Nobunaga was angry.

"N-No, I only thought..." Hayashi said, wondering what he could say that wouldn't just get him into more trouble. Hayashi had originally come here to make sure Nobunaga was behaving as he was expected to as Lord of Owari, and had overheard the servants gossiping about Ayako and the poison soup incident. He was saved when they heard a knocking sound.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

The two men turned to look at the door, the direction the sound had come from.

"Lord Nobunaga, It's me, Ayako. Gorouza said I should report to you once I was well enough?" Ayako said.

"Come in." Nobunaga said. 'I see... so that's what she meant by 'knock' before you enter...' Nobunaga thought. People usually just announced who they were and why they were there before entering, since the doors weren't that thick. People didn't usually knock like that. "Hayashi, this is Himura Ayako Louise, the girl we were just talking about." Nobunaga explained as Ayako opened the door and entered the room. She sat down in front of Nobunaga, but not too close to Hayashi. Hayashi looked at Ayako. She still looked a little green around the gills from being poisoned, but the fact that she was up and out of bed at all was impressive. He hair was damp, and she looked fresh from the bath. So, she had obviously bathed and changed into the clean clothes she was currently wearing before coming to see Nobunaga. She was a rather attractive girl, with her exotic golden hair and fascinating eyes that were emerald with a copper-colored ring around the pupils. He found it strange that she was wearing men's clothing, though.

"Hello, Sir." Ayako said, bowing politely. She could tell from his clothing that Hayashi was probably a high-ranking nobleman, and she didn't want to screw up Nobunaga's relationship with him by being rude. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had a guest." She said to Nobunaga.

"It's fine. Hayashi was just leaving anyway." Nobunaga said, casually dismissing the man. Ayako glanced at Hayashi. That looked like news to him.

"But my lord, we have not discussed anything yet!" Hayashi said. Nobunaga glanced at him.

"Hmph, you mean you're hear to do more than just lecture me this time?" Nobunaga asked, raising an eyebrow at the older man. Hayashi flinched guiltily, but avoided answering Nobunaga by turning to Ayako.

"I heard you saved our lord's life yesterday." Hayashi said to Ayako.

"Hm? Oh, I don't think I really did that much. After all, I'm almost completely back to normal after a good night's sleep." Ayako said honestly. "But I was wondering... did you ever find the culprit?" Ayako asked Nobunaga. Hayashi sweat dropped as he glanced at Nobunaga, realizing that he had failed to ask such an important question before. Nobunaga smirked, pleased that at least someone was using their head.

"Yes, it was the servant who delivered the food to us. He had been paid a large sum of money to slip the poison into the soup. He's been taken care of." Nobunaga said. Ayako wasn't sure she wanted to know what 'taken care of' meant in this case, so she decided not to ask.

"How troublesome... if the servants are that easy to turn, this could very well happen again." Hayashi said. "My Lord, a poison tester would be—"

"Out of the question." Nobunaga said, cutting him off. Nobunaga didn't like that idea one bit.

"But what if you're poisoned..._!_?" Hayashi yelled.

"What if you just picked someone you trust, someone who can't be bribed, and have that one person prepare your meals separately?" Ayako asked. Hayashi stared at her, stunned. Even if she had saved Nobunaga, she was still just a peasant, and she was making him look bad. She should know her place.

"I understand that you have saved our lord, but you are still a peasant. Do not speak unless you have been given permission to do so." Hayashi said. Ayako stared at him, obviously insulted. She turned to Nobunaga.

"Permission to speak freely, my Lord?" Ayako asked. Nobunaga nodded, telling her to continue what she was saying.

"First of all, _Sir_, forgive me if I offended you, but I'm simply not used to all of the customs here yet, and second, I am a descendant of royalty. They may not be Japanese royalty, but they are _royalty_, none the less." Ayako said, giving Hayashi a brilliant shit-eating grin. Hayashi stared at her, shocked. Nobunaga raised an eyebrow. Hadn't she just told him the other day that they didn't have royalty where she was from? Hayashi was even more stunned when the cat that Nobunaga had been petting sauntered over to Ayako and started purring as it rubbed up against her. Ayako smiled and pet the cat. Hayashi's jaw dropped. He had never seen that cat be friendly to anyone other than Nobunaga before. It always scratched or hissed at anyone else who came near it. Just who was this girl_!_?

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"I thought you said there wasn't any royalty where you're from." Nobunaga said to Ayako once Hayashi had left.

"There aren't, but my ancestors were originally from another country, called France. My mother's side of the family is related to one of that country's kings, but on the 'wrong side of the blanket,' if you know what I mean." Ayako said.

"... You mean the child resulting from that union was illegitimate." Nobunaga said.

"Exactly, but Hayashi-dono doesn't need to know that little detail. We still have the blood of a king flowing through our veins. I don't usually brag about it like that, but I couldn't help but throw it out there after he acted so high and mighty..." Ayako said, frowning. "Sorry, I just don't like it when people think they're worth more as a human being, just because they have a higher social status. We're all human, and while we're not exactly equal since we all have different strengths and weaknesses, we're all born with the same inherent dignity and rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, you know?" Nobunaga glanced at her.

"You say some pretty profound things for someone so young." Nobunaga said.

"What do you mean? I'm only three years younger than you." Ayako said, sweat dropping. "Besides, that's just common sense where I come from. So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Are you feeling well enough to spar with the others?" Nobunaga asked.

"Hmm... I think so, but I'll probably have to take a break here and there since I still feel weak." Ayako said.

"If that's the case, then you should just watch the others for today and rest. You should get used to how we fight in this era as soon as possible." Nobunaga said. Ayako nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't want to go into battle and find out I had no clue what was going on." Ayako said, smiling wryly. "I'll go find Gorouza and the others then, later." She said as she got up to leave the room and find the others.

"Ayako." Nobunaga said, causing her to stop and look back at him. "From now on, you and Gorouza will be cooking and serving our meals. Tell him that when you see him."

"Umm... okay, but I'm better at cooking western food than I am at Japanese food." Ayako said honestly.

"Is it edible?" Nobunaga asked bluntly.

"Yes, at least according to the monks, and they'd have no problem letting me know if it wasn't." Ayako said frankly.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem." Nobunaga said.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Outside, where the others were sparring}

"Hey, can I try that?" Ayako asked Kuranosuke, pointing to his gun. Kuranosuke was currently engaging in some target practice.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching?" Kuranosuke said, frowning.

"Yeah, but I can probably handle shooting a gun. I just have to be careful about the recoil, right?" Ayako said, smiling. "I've never shot a real gun before."

"Why don't you just go ahead and let her, Kura?" Inuchiyo said, smiling.

"It's not that easy!" Kuranosuke huffed, insulted that Ayako had made it sound so simple when it took real skill to use the ancient rifles.

"Well, why don't you let her find out for herself, then?" Gorouza said smiling. He knew why Kuranosuke was upset, but he could tell Ayako hadn't meant any harm, and she looked incredibly bored just watching them.

"Tch, fine." Kuranosuke said. "It's already loaded and set to go, just aim and pull the trigger." Kuranosuke said grumpily as he shoved the gun into her hands.

"Thanks!" Ayako said, smiling as she took aim at the practice target he had set up. Ayako aimed for the bull's-eye, and fired—and flew a few inches backwards when the recoil knocked her off her feet. "...Whoa! This gun has a lot of kick." Ayako said, surprised as she lay on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Gorouza asked, concerned.

"Ha! Serves you right for underestimating me." Kuranosuke said, smirking. "As if you could—"

"—Wow~! Ayako hit the bull's-eye!" Inuchiyo said as he leaned over and looked at the target. Kuranosuke twitched.

"What_!_?" Kuranosuke said in disbelief as he ran over to check the target. It had taken him a whole week to be able to hit the bull's-eye from that distance. "I thought you said you never shot a gun before!"

"I said I've never shot a _real_ gun. I play the shooting game with fake guns that shoot corks at the target at every fair or festival I go to. I had to stop one time when I made the person running the booth cry because I kept winning too much." Ayako said, sweat dropping.

"... Just for the record, is there anything you _can't_ do?" Kuranosuke asked, chagrined.

"Hmm... well, I can't walk and chew gum at the same time." Ayako said, smiling.


	41. Bon Appetit

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar. __**It will be in bold if it's English.**_

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"—_Wow~! Ayako hit the bull's-eye!" Inuchiyo said as he leaned over and looked at the target. Kuranosuke twitched._

"_What!" Kuranosuke said in disbelief as he ran over to check the target. It had taken him a whole week to be able to hit the bull's-eye from that distance. "I thought you said you never shot a gun before!"_

"_I said I've never shot a real gun. I play the shooting game with fake guns that shoot corks at the target at every fair or festival I go to. I had to stop one time when I made the person running the booth cry because I kept winning too much." Ayako said, sweat dropping._

"_... Just for the record, is there anything you can't do?" Kuranosuke asked, chagrined._

"_Hmm... well, I can't walk and chew gum at the same time." Ayako said, smiling._

* * *

><p>You know, I can't tell whether that girl is an idiot or a genius..." Kuranosuke said sweat dropping. Ayako had fallen asleep in the shade, on the porch, while they were sparring, since she was still feeling lethargic from being poisoned yesterday. "Who just falls asleep out in the open like that?"<p>

"I agree that Ayako doesn't seem to have a very good sense of danger, since she thinks it's safe just because we're in the lord's castle, but other than that, she seems like a dependable ally." Gorouza said, smiling.

"Hey, Gorouza, didn't Ayako say earlier that you and her were supposed to make lunch?" Inuchiyo said. He was starting to get hungry.

"Ah, yes. I suppose we should get started since it's getting close to lunch time." Gorouza said.

"Yaay~! It's lunchtime, Ayako~! Time to wake up!" Inuchiyo said excitedly as he poked Ayako in the side to wake her up.

"Gyaaah_!_?" Ayako cried in surprise as she shot a few inches off the ground, and started rolling on the ground in a fit of laughter. "—Don't—haha—Do that—haha—!" Ayako managed to say in between laughs. The boys stared, not sure how to react.

"Gorouza! I think I broke her!" Inuchiyo cried, clearly distressed at the thought. Gorouza sweat dropped and smiled wryly. He wasn't sure what to make of her strange behavior either.

"I hope her weirdness isn't contagious." Kuranosuke muttered. Ayako gasped and took a deep breath, finally managing to calm down.

"No, I'm alright, Inuchiyo. I'm just _extremely_ ticklish there." Ayako said, smiling wryly and sweat dropping.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Ayako, since you're still recovering, how about I prepare the main dish, and you can make the rice balls to go with it." Gorouza suggested as they started preparing supper in the kitchen.

"Sounds good to me. Rice balls are my specialty." Ayako said, smiling.

"Humph, that's what people who can't cook say." Kuranosuke said, smirking at her.

"They're just easier for me to make since they were the fish Japanese dish I learned to make, okay! I don't have to make you any if you're going to be like that, you know." Ayako retorted.

"Hey, hey! Ayako! Can you make me lots of rice balls?" Inuchiyo asked hopefully with big puppy dog eyes.

"Umm... Is that okay, Gorouza?" Ayako asked, trying not to give in to Inuchiyo's puppy-like cuteness.

"You can make him one extra one, but our lord wants everyone to ration the food since there isn't a lot of rice to go around right now, because a lot of crops have been failing." Gorouza said.

"Is there a famine going on right now?" Ayako asked, alarmed.

"No, it's not quite that bad yet, but our lord doesn't want to be wasteful, just in case." Gorouza explained, smiling.

"Oh, that's good. I'm glad to hear he's planning ahead." Ayako said, relived.

"Of course he is!" Kuranosuke said, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. "He's the ruler of Owari, why wouldn't he think ahead?"

"Yep, our lord is amazing!" Inuchiyo said, smiling.

"You guys really like the lord, don't you?" Ayako said, smiling.

"Yeah!" Inuchiyo said happily.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Pardon the intrusion." Gorouza said, smiling as he opened the door, and they entered into the room where Nobunaga was waiting for them to eat. Nobunaga looked up from the reports he was reading when Ayako placed his tray of food in front of him.

"Hmph. Took you long enough." He said, smirking.

"You're _welcome_." Ayako deadpanned as she sat down with her own food.

"It's because this one fell a sleep and we had to wake her up." Kuranosuke said, jabbing his thumb in Ayako's direction.

"Let's see you stay awake when you have jet lag and are recovering from poison." Ayako muttered.

"Hmph, you seemed energetic enough earlier." Kuranosuke retorted.

"That wasn't something I could really control..." Ayako said, sweat dropping.

"Control what?" Nobunaga asked. It sounded like something interesting had happened.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing!" Ayako said a little too quickly, making Nobunaga even more curious. Ayako had a feeling that he'd probably turn her into his squeak toy, like her friends back home, if he knew.

"Just this." Kuranosuke deadpanned as he poked Ayako in the side without warning.

"_!_?" Ayako yelped as she suddenly shot a foot away from Kuranosuke, rolling on the floor laughing. Nobunaga stared at her. He'd never seen such an extreme reaction before.

"Hmph!" Nobunaga said, clearly amused. That sobered Ayako up. She slowly turned to look at Nobunaga, who was smirking like a kid who'd found a new toy... this did not bode well for her future.

"... You're never going to let me live this down, are you?" Ayako asked, sweat dropping. Nobunaga just smirked at her. Ayako sighed as she hung her head in defeat. 'I knew it...!' she thought as a comical trail of tears flowed down her cheeks. Gorouza sweat dropped, feeling a little sorry for Ayako. Nobunaga really seemed to enjoy teasing her.

"... Ayako..." Inuchiyo said suddenly, sounding extremely grave. They all turned to look at him. He was holding a half-eaten rice ball.

'That's strange... Inuchiyo usually inhales his food instead of pacing himself...' Gorouza thought.

"Um, is something wrong, Inuchiyo?" Ayako asked, a little unnerved by how serious the normally carefree boy was being. Inuchiyo clasped her hands in his.

"_This is delicious!"_ Inuchiyo said, smiling with the intensity of a thousand white-hot suns. His happiness was blinding.

"Oh, um... thanks?" Ayako said, smiling wryly. She'd never gotten a reaction like_ that_ before. The other three men stared at their rice balls, and decided to skip ahead and see what Inuchiyo was talking about. If Inuchiyo had actually stopped to savor the flavor... it must be amazing...

"_!_?" They all said when they tasted the rice balls. They _were_ amazing.

"What did you put in these? They're abnormally excellent." Nobunaga said, perfectly serious. Ayako sweat dropped.

'That would've been a really nice compliment if it wasn't for that one unneeded word he stuck in there... does he have something against giving people an honest compliment?' Ayako wondered. "I don't get what you mean. I just used the normal ingredients for plain rice balls." Ayako said frankly.

"It's true, I didn't see her add anything extra..." Gorouza said, mystified. He was a good cook, since it was his hobby, but this taste was on a completely different level.

"You should make these every day!" Inuchiyo said as he eyed Kuranosuke's rice ball, drooling. "That was the best rice ball I've ever tasted!"

"Haha, thanks Inuchiyo." Ayako said, smiling, rubbing the back of her neck and blushing. She was starting to feel a little shy after being praised so much.

"I was ready to laugh at you when you failed, too. I thought you said your mother couldn't cook." Kuranosuke said. A vein mark throbbed on her head.

"You're really rude, you know. Luckily, I didn't inherit my mother's talent for turning anything edible into charcoal. My grandfather, her father, taught me how to cook, and then my uncle taught me how to make Japanese food once I came here." Ayako said.

"From now on, you're my official rice ball maker." Nobunaga said as he continued to eat the gourmet rice ball. Ayako sweat dropped and smiled wryly. Was that even a real position?

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

{Later that evening}

"Why are you taking another bath when you just had one this morning?" Kuranosuke asked Ayako as they all walked to the bathhouse together.

"Because, I rolled all over the ground when you poked me, remember?" Ayako said, chagrined. The rest of the day had been pretty uneventful, and now they were all ready to enjoy a relaxing warm bath... except for Ayako. She had been stubbornly sticking to the little private area that Nobunaga had set up for her and bathing in just the cold water that was used to clean yourself before entering the springs, instead of enjoying the hot spring with the others. Ayako had found out that morning that the people in the castle used the bathhouse whenever they had time, since the servants worked in shifts most of the time. She was relived to find out that they all wore towels to cover up the important parts once they were ready to go into the spring, so she just had to be careful to keep looking up when she walked through the washing area. That way, she wouldn't need any eye bleach later on.

"You should probably soak in the hot spring this time, Ayako. It'll help you heal faster." Gorouza said, smiling.

"It's more fun when everyone's together, too~!" Inuchiyo said.

"You can't avoid it forever." Nobunaga added bluntly. Ayako sighed.

"I guess you're right... and the towel is kind of big on me, so it covers more..." Ayako said, finally giving in. If it would help her get better faster, she could suck it up and handle the embarrassment for one bath.


	42. Splish Splash, Takin' A Bath!

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar. __**It will be in bold if it's English.**_

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_You should probably soak in the hot spring this time, Ayako. It'll help you heal faster." Gorouza said, smiling._

"_It's more fun when everyone's together, too~!" Inuchiyo said._

"_You can't avoid it forever." Nobunaga added bluntly. Ayako sighed._

"_I guess you're right... and the towel is kind of big on me, so it covers more..." Ayako said, finally giving in. If it would help her get better faster, she could suck it up and handle the embarrassment for one bath._

* * *

><p>SPLASH!<p>

"Hey!" Kuranosuke shouted indignantly when Inuchiyo splashed him. "You'd better prepare yourself, stupid dog!" He yelled as he grabbed a nearby bucket and used it to scoop up water and toss it at Inuchiyo. Inuchiyo was laughing and having fun playing in the water. Kuranosuke had a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"My, they're both so energetic." Gorouza said, smiling.

"It looks like fun." Ayako said, smiling wryly as she relaxed in the hot spring next to Gorouza. The warm water felt fantastic. She noticed that lots of the other men and women were chatting casually with each other, not the least bit embarrassed to be around each other wearing just towels. She felt a little embarrassed for overreacting before, but she'd still rather have her privacy.

"You see, you were making a fuss over nothing." Nobunaga said as he joined them.

"Maybe... but I'm still really glad you set up those privacy screens for me, thank you." Ayako said, blushing. Nobunaga was sitting a little close, unlike Gorouza who was actually making an effort to respect her personal space. Nobunaga noticed that a lot of the men kept sneaking glances at Ayako. Some of them were giving her looks that were more than just ones of curiosity. Maybe her paranoia wasn't completely unfounded, after all...

"For some reason, I feel like I'm being watched..." Ayako said, glancing in the direction of the men who'd been staring at her, but they pretended to be looking at something else when she did.

'That's because you are.' Gorouza and Nobunaga thought, sweat dropping.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Gorouza asked.

"Well, maybe just a little, but it's not _that_ bad..." Ayako said thoughtfully. "The water feels good, so it's helping to calm my nerves some."

"I see, that's good." Gorouza said, smiling.

_WHOOSH!_

"_!_?" Ayako said, surprised as she just barely managed to dodge the bucket that had suddenly flown at her. "What the...?" Ayako said, wondering where it came from as she held onto her towel to make sure it didn't fall. In order to dodge it, Ayako had to stand up, so she was only halfway in the water now.

"Inuchiyo, Kuranosuke... could you please show a little self-restraint and consideration for the people around you?" Gorouza scolded them. He was smiling, but you could sense the threat behind it. He was surprised that Ayako had managed to react so quickly when she seemed oblivious to danger most of the time. The two troublemakers nodded and gulped, not wanting to anger Gorouza any further.

"That was close." Ayako said, sweat dropping. Luckily, she hadn't noticed all the men staring at her, or she would've been _really_ embarrassed. The wet towel was clinging to her body, showing off her curves, and revealing that she wasn't nearly as flat as they thought she was.

"..." Nobunaga said, staring at her as she sat down in water again, completely obscuring their view of everything but her head and shoulders. Nobunaga heard a few sounds of disappointment. He could understand why Ayako had been so skittish now. Men really were wolves. Ayako noticed Nobunaga staring at her.

"W-What?" Ayako asked nervously, blushing.

"It looks like you're the type that's surprisingly more attractive when your clothes aren't hiding your curves." Nobunaga said bluntly. Ayako turned a really interesting shade of red as she sunk even further down into the water, so that you could only see her head above the water now. She was beyond embarrassed.

"Y-You're not supposed to look—perv...!" Ayako mumbled nervously, avoiding his gaze.

"My Lord, perhaps you shouldn't tease her so much..." Gorouza said, sweat dropping, as he smiled wryly.

"Hmph." Nobunaga said, not looking the least bit apologetic.

"My looks are considered average where I'm from. You guys just think I look exotic since my hair and eyes are from what you're used too." Ayako said, furrowing her brow as she tried to get over her embarrassment.

"I don't think that's the only reason..." Gorouza said.

"If you say so..." Ayako said, not looking very convinced. Nobunaga smacked Ayako upside the back of her head.

"_!_?" Ayako said, surprised. It didn't really hurt, but she hadn't expected to be hit for no reason. "What was that for_!_?" She asked indignantly.

"For being an idiot. Just accept that you're attractive, and move on." Nobunaga said bluntly.

"I-I'm just feeling shy, okay_!_? I know I act all tough, but I'm not used to being treated like a girl, so it's a little embarrassing..." Ayako said, embarrassed, blushing an even deeper shade of red.

"What do you mean?" Gorouza asked curiously.

"Well, you see, my dad _really_ wanted a boy, but he got me instead. So, I was pretty much raised as a boy. I didn't even own a doll until I was five and I finally convinced him to buy me one." Ayako explained, shrugging like it was no big deal. "He was really stubborn."

"Your old man sounds pretty annoying." Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping.

"Yeah, sometimes, but he was a good dad, so I never stayed mad at him for long." Ayako said, smiling fondly at the memories of her childhood. "I've got some great stories too, like the time my mom came home and freaked out when she heard me calling out to her and realized that I, who was only a little toddler at the time, was standing on the roof while my dad was replacing some of the tiles... my mom is scary when she's mad!" Ayako said, shivering and shaking her head to wipe the image from her mind. "I thought my dad would spontaneously combust from the death glare she gave him while she was scolding him." The others all sweat dropped. So that was where her intimidating glare and tomboyish behavior came from.

"Haha, it sounds like your mother was the more responsible parent, then..." Gorouza said, smiling wryly.

"Yep, but she wasn't exactly your typical mother either." Ayako said, smiling wryly. "She was a third degree black belt in Judo, and a relatively famous artist. She's my role model!" Ayako said, smiling proudly. "I want to be able to sell my artwork someday too!"

"Wow~! So your mom was strong too!" Inuchiyo said, smiling as he crossed his arms and leaned on top of Ayako's head. Ayako blushed and sweat dropped. Inuchiyo was heavy, and way too close for comfort.

"?" Inuchiyo said, surprised when he felt someone push him away from Ayako. It was Nobunaga. For some reason, Nobunaga hadn't liked the sight of another man touching her, even though he knew Inuchiyo didn't have any ill or perverted intentions when he had gotten close to Ayako. Ayako breathed a sigh of relief. That had been awkward, but she wasn't freaked out, since Inuchiyo was more like an overly affectionate puppy than anything else. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked, confused.

"You really don't get it, do you?" Kuranosuke said, sweat dropping.

"Were you from some warrior clan or something?" Kuranosuke asked.

"No way!" Ayako said, laughing. "Some of my ancestors were warriors, but most people really only learn martial arts for self defense where I come from. We have nothing to do with the military. Like I said before, my mom was an artist, a painter to be exact, and my dad was a doctor. He even taught my **Girl Scout **troop how to do first aid." She explained.

"**Girl Scout**...?" Inuchiyo asked curiously.

"Oh, in Japanese it means 'girl scout.' It's a program for girls that teaches them life skills in a fun way. It mostly deals with wilderness survival skills, but a lot of it has to do with community service too." Ayako explained.

"Hmm, that sounds like a good idea." Gorouza said, smiling. "I'm guessing women play a more prominent role in your homeland's society?"

"Definitely! Where I come from, men and women are considered equal, and they're not limited to specific professions either." Ayako said, smiling. "My grandma was a doctor too."

"My, that certainly is something." Gorouza said, smiling.

"No wonder you're so cheeky..." Kuranosuke muttered, causing him to be elbowed in his ribs by Ayako. "Hey!" He yelled indignantly, vein mark throbbing on his head.

"Hmph, I'd like to see your country someday. It sounds interesting." Nobunaga told Ayako, smirking. Ayako's world was so diverse and open... just like how he wanted his Japan to be. Ayako sweat dropped and smiled wryly. She knew Nobunaga was only half serious since he knew that she came from the future and her 'world' didn't exist yet, but the look on his face clearly said 'let me loose, and I'll paint the town red.' Modern Japan and America wouldn't stand a chance against the wild young lord.


	43. Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar. __**It will be in bold if it's English.**_

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

_"Hmph, I'd like to see your country someday. It sounds interesting." Nobunaga told Ayako, smirking. Ayako's world was so diverse and open... just like how he wanted his Japan to be. Ayako sweat dropped and smiled wryly. She knew Nobunaga was only half serious since he knew that she came from the future and her 'world' didn't exist yet, but the look on his face clearly said 'let me loose, and I'll paint the town red.' Modern Japan and America wouldn't stand a chance against the wild young lord._

_=End Flashback Mode=_

* * *

><p><em><strong>... And so, that was how my first three days in the Sengoku era went. Pretty eventful, huh? I thought stuff like this only happened in mangas and animes... (^_^;)<strong>_

'Hmph, _'eventful'_ my ass!' Isshin thought, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. Ayako had just calmly written that she had a near death experience on her first night there. 'Good thing I'm a monk, because I have a feeling I'm going to go bald by the time I'm done reading this...' Isshin thought, chagrined. Their temple was a little different, since the head priest didn't have to shave his head like the other monks, but he really wouldn't be shocked if all his hair fell out from stressing out over all of Ayako's little misadventures... at the very least, he was already starting to go gray. 'And that damn Nobunaga's lucky that he's already dead in this era, because he'd be in for a world of hurt for harassing my niece like that!' Isshin thought angrily as he flipped to the next page in Ayako's diary and began reading again.

_**So, that brings us to today's events, my third day in the Sengoku. Gorouza was right about the hot spring, because I was completely recovered when I woke up today! Yaay~! \(^o^)/ Unfortunately, that meant I had to do a ridiculous amount of chores since I was well enough to work. (¬_¬;)**_

RING! RING! RING!

The phone was ringing in the kitchen, down the hall from his room.

Isshin sighed as he put the diary down and left to answer it. This had better be good.

"Hello." Isshin said brusquely, frowning as he answered the phone.

"Why, good afternoon to you too, Isshin-sama!" Kinoshita said sarcastically from the other end of the phone. Kinoshita wasn't really mad though, he was used to Isshin's grumpiness, and he knew the priest had been extra down since Ayako's disappearance a few days ago. "You've probably guessed it already, but I'm calling about the results for that fragment of paper you sent in to me... where exactly did you find it again?" Kinoshita asked curiously.

"The old storehouse. Stop waffling and get to the point, Kinoshita." Isshin said bluntly. He didn't need him snooping around too much and finding out about the extraordinary circumstances about Ayako's disappearance and her diary.

"Oh, right—anyway, not only did the test results end up showing that the paper and ink for this document's scrap are about five-hundred years old, but the handwriting matches a sample I saw in an ancient document of _the_ Oda Nobunaga! I can't believe you had something like this hiding in your storehouse! It's a shame it was damaged to the point where this is all that was left..." Kinoshita said excitedly. Isshin had ripped one of the kanji characters that Nobunaga had written into the book to have it tested, since Ayako's handwriting would be recognized right away, but he hadn't expected Kinoshita to actually know what Nobunaga's handwriting looked like... this could be bad. Kinoshita was huge Nobunaga fan.

"Oh, that's nice. Just go ahead and keep it then, you crazy otaku." Isshin grumbled.

"_Can I!_?" Kinoshita yelled excitedly, beyond joyful, and entering the territory of sickeningly happy.

"Yeah, just as long as I don't have to hear you gushing about how great it is. If you bug me about it, I'll come over there and burn it." Isshin said, feeling annoyed already as he hung up the phone without waiting to hear the other man's answer. Isshin ran a hand through his hair as he sighed resignedly. Ayako really had traveled back in time... but at least it sounded like she would be coming back, since Nobunaga said she left the Sengoku era...

'And when she does, I'll be here waiting for her.' Isshin thought as he made his way back to his room so that he could continue reading his niece's diary. Of course, once Ayako was back safe and sound, he was going to give her a real scolding for making him worry. Something like one hundred laps around the temple grounds might be enough.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I'm sorry it took me so long to update for awhile, but school doesn't let me have any time to breathe sometimes, and I'm probably going to be really busy again soon... I also started feeling like I needed a little break from this story, but don't worry, I'm not stopping, I just probably won't be updating as quickly as I usually do, and I started a new _Mouryou no Hako _fanfic to help me have something else to think about, since that sometimes helps with my writer's block. I hope you guys continue to enjoy this story! ^_^


	44. Back To The Future?

**Warning: This is based off a manga called **_**Sengoku Strays**_**. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do! I don't own anything but my OC, and I will probably end up using artistic license to butcher Japanese history, so I would just like to apologize in advance, and I don't mean to offend anyone!**

* * *

><p>[Narration]<p>

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

_Isshin ran a hand through his hair as he sighed resignedly. Ayako really had traveled back in time... but at least it sounded like she would be coming back, since Nobunaga said she left the Sengoku era..._

'_And when she does, I'll be here waiting for her.' Isshin thought as he made his way back to his room so that he could continue reading his niece's diary. Of course, once Ayako was back safe and sound, he was going to give her a real scolding for making him worry. Something like one hundred laps around the temple grounds might be enough..._

* * *

><p>"Haah..." Hiroshi sighed listlessly as he trudged along the wooden porch, carrying the jar of homemade sake Isshin had asked him to fetch. He paused as he passed the storehouse and stared at it solemnly. It had only been a couple of days since Ayako's disappearance, but it felt like it had been years since he last spoke to the spunky girl. 'Come one, Ayako, just how long are you going to make us worry...?' Hiroshi thought sadly. Although he was Isshin's apprentice, Hiroshi had no intention of really becoming a monk. It was really just an excuse to satisfy the other monks who were against Isshin adopting Hiroshi... However, if it could bring Ayako back, Hiroshi would really shave his head bald and become a real monk it meant he'd be able to get his cute little adopted sister back...<p>

_FLASH!_

Hiroshi's eyes widened in shock when a bright, blue light, just like the one Isshin had described seeing the day Ayako went missing, suddenly flashed from within the storehouse. He stood there, too numb with shock to move, as the light died down and faded away. The jar of sake slipped from his hands and fell to the floor.

CRASH!

The ceramic jar shattered and sake spilled out onto the porch as Hiroshi ran to the storehouse, praying that this wasn't just a hallucination. He threw open the door and froze in his tracks when he saw what awaited him inside. There, lying on the floor, was an unconscious Ayako. Her hair was shorter, and she was wearing an oversized-haori and armor that had the emblem of the Oda clan on it. But other than that, she still looked exactly the same as she had when he last saw her. Hiroshi dropped to his knees beside the sleeping Ayako. It was then that he noticed something horrifying. _Blood._ Blood was starting to bleed through Ayako's clothing—It looked like she had been shot!

"I... _Isshiiiinnn-saaammaaa!_!" Hiroshi yelled desperately, not daring to move from that spot, lest Ayako disappeared on them again somehow. _"Isshiiinnn-saaammaaa!_!"

"What the hell are you screaming for? You trying to raise the dead_!_?" Isshin demanded, vein mark throbbing on his head as he came running into the storehouse to shut Hiroshi up.

"Isshin-sama! It's Ayako—_She's back!_! _And she's bleeding!_!_"_ Hiroshi cried anxiously as Isshin's eyes widened in shock.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Mmng..." Ayako groaned groggily as she tried to open her eyes. For some reason, the back of her left shoulder was hurting a little, and she felt like she had been drugged... "Nobunaga... what...?" She asked drowsily as she slowly opened her eyes, hoping he might know what was going on. Ayako froze when she saw where she was. The pristine and smooth white walls... the smell of medicine and disinfectant... the creepy feeling of having an IV needle stuck into her arm... and the usual hospital bed that she was lying in... _Ayako has somehow gone back to the future!_! 'No way_!_?' She thought, panicking. 'We were just at battle against Kiyosu! How could this be_!_?'

KA-CHAK.

"Hmph. I see that you're finally awake!" An elderly woman wearing a simple but elegant kimono said coolly as she entered the room, followed by Isshin and Hiroshi.

"A-Ayakooo-chaaannn~!" Hiroshi cried dramatically as he launched himself at her, sobbing his eyes out in relief that she had finally woken up,, mumbling incoherently about how glad he was that she was all right.

"Oi. Don't be too rough with her, or you'll reopen her wounds." Isshin said sternly, though he couldn't really blame Hiroshi for his enthusiasm... After suddenly reappearing in the temple's storehouse with a gunshot wound in her shoulder, Ayako had been unconscious for nearly two whole days. They were afraid she had slipped into a coma...

"Uncle Isshin... Hiroshi-kun... wha-what's going on...?" Ayako asked, shell-shocked. She knew she should be happy to see them—and she was—but how on earth was this possible...? Had the whole thing been a dream_!_? Ayako couldn't help but feel a profound sense of loss that left her filled with a dreadful emptiness at the thought. She loved Nobunaga far too much for it to be just an illusion!

"I was hoping you could tell me." Isshin said, sighing tiredly as he ruffled her hair. He looked like he hadn't slept for days. "First, you suddenly skip off to the Sengoku era on us, and then just as suddenly, you reappear with a serious wound that rendered you unconscious for two whole days! Give me a little more warning, would you? I'm getting to old for this crap." Ayako's eyes widened when she heard that. So it really wasn't a dream... but how did Isshin know where she had been al this time_!_?

"I'm so glad you're back! I was so shocked when I found you unconscious and bleeding! That bastard Nobunaga—how could he let you get hurt like this after writing that you were his wife_!_?" Hiroshi ranted hysterically.

"Wait, what—_!_?" Ayako shouted in surprise, blushing.

"Apparently, Nobunaga found the diary you were keeping for me after you returned to our time. I was able to read it since I found it after you disappeared. From the inscription he wrote in the back of it, it seems he had waited for you for quite a while before finally writing instructions for it to be sent to our temple, along with some of your belongings. It looks like you're back with us for good now." Isshin explained calmly. He watched Ayako carefully, wondering what her reaction could be. As he had continued to read her diary, Isshin had seen how much Ayako had come to love Nobunaga, and the last entry had been about how she was nervous about riding off into her first real battle, and how excited she was to get married with the young lord once it was over... Although Isshin new that Ayako had missed them, he also knew that returning meant she had left behind someone that had become extremely important to her. This was not going to be the happy reunion Hiroshi was probably imagining...

"I won't... see him again...?" Ayako asked, gripping the sheets tightly in her hands as she trembled slightly, and tears silently rolled down her cheeks. "Uncle Isshin... that can't be right... because we...!"

"Ayako..." Hiroshi said, but he was stopped when Isshin laid a hand on his shoulder and shook his head at the boy, telling him to let it go.

"I know. It's not fair... I'm sorry, Ayako." Isshin said solemnly as he held his niece gently. He furrowed his brow and grit his teeth in frustration as Ayako burst into uncontrollable sobbing, unable to do anymore for her.

"_Nobunagaaa! Noooo! Aaaaaah! Nobunagaaaa!"_ Ayako screamed, stricken with grief at the thought of never being able to see him again. How did it come to this_!_? Why—Why had they been separated after everything they had been through..._!_?

=Flashback=

{1552 AD—The battle against Kiyosu}

"Hmph, I've made up my mind—" Nobunaga said, avoiding her gaze. He knew she had already figured out what his next words would be, and he hated that it was causing her pain—but he was not going to let any more harm come to her or his strange 'family.' He would do what he had to protect them. "Gorouza... help Ayako down from my horse. I... will be going out alone!" Nobunaga declared, determined to end this bloody battle.

"—Like hell you are!" Ayako yelled, angry and determined, as she clung to Nobunaga when Gorouza came over to help her down. She was not letting him go out there alone!

"My Lord! Ayako is right, we cannot allow you to face such an enemy alo—!" Gorouza said. He froze mid-sentence, shocked, as Nobunaga pulled Ayako into a deep and passionate kiss. Ayako was too stunned to react. You know how people often say that they see fire works when they kiss? Well, in this case—it was the freaking 4th of July! For a girl who was finally getting her first kiss, it was pretty overwhelming... in an awesome way. However, just as Ayako relaxed, closed her eyes, and started to return the kiss, she felt a sharp pressure in the back of her neck, and her vision quickly faded to black as she lost consciousness.

"A-Ayako!" Kasane cried alarm when Nobunaga suddenly hit her on the back of the neck, knocking the blond girl out. Nobunaga held onto her now limp body so she wouldn't fall off of his horse. "My lord, what are you—!" Kasane started to ask nervously, concerned for her friend, when Nobunaga cut her off.

"Girl, I'm leaving Ayako in your care for now." Nobunaga told Kasane solemnly as he handed Ayako down to her. "Since it's her, she'll probably recover quickly. Be sure that she is ready when she does."

"You're... really going out alone..._!_? Surely you're joking, Brother_!_?" Nobuyuki asked anxiously. The fact that Nobunaga was leaving Ayako behind showed just how dangerous whatever the lord of Owari was planning really was. "Please consider our situation! We destroyed the bridge in order to prevent a rush from the Kiyosu forces. Then the ambush came behind us, and now Yoshitatsu's forces are before us. Also, the Kiyosu forces are crossing the river elsewhere. The enemy has cut us off from three directions! And you want to run out in front of an unbroken line of gunmen...! It's reckless beyond belief! Even if you have a plan, our general cannot go out in to battle!" Nobuyuki said earnestly.

"Th-That's right, my lord!" Kasane added anxiously. No wonder Ayako had been so desperate to stop him before!

"My lord! My lord!" The soldiers all shouted anxiously, nervous for their leader.

"Hmph! There's no time to argue about this." Nobunaga said sternly, his decision made. This was why he had resorted to knocking Ayako out. He knew she would never let him ride out alone like this, and he couldn't have her endangered as well... and he had to get going before she regained consciousness again. Ayako really was an 'oni-hime' when you got her mad. Everyone stared at the young lord of Owari in stunned silence. They knew that tone of voice meant that there was no stopping him now. He was really doing this. _"Everyone remove your armor and stand guard against a rear attack! I will be going out alone!"_ Nobunaga declared.

"My lord...!" The soldiers said uneasily, shifting nervously as they grit their teeth and clenched their fists, unable to defy Nobunaga's orders.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Lord Yoshitatsu! Nobunaga's troops are crumbling! There seems to be disorder in his ranks, and he's retreating in chaos!" One of Yoshitatsu's soldiers reported as they knelt beside Yoshitatsu's horse, though he didn't know why he bothered, since Yoshitatsu could also see what was happening from his position.

'... Hmph. His soldiers are a mish-mash, after all. Facing such a huge gap in strength, his only option should be retreat!' Yoshitatsu thought smugly. 'But I won't allow this opportunity to pass!' He was going to crush Nobunaga! _"All troops advance! We will take Nobunaga out in one stroke!"_ He commanded.

"W...Wait, my lord! That's...!" The soldier beside him yelled anxiously when he saw what was heading towards them. Nobunaga, the lord of Owari, was galloping towards them all by himself—_full speed ahead!_

"N—_No... Nobunaga... is rushing us alone_..._!_?" Yoshitatsu's soldiers cried incredulously, unnerved by Nobunaga's crazy move.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Gahh! He really went off by himself!" One of Nobunaga's soldiers cried in disbelief as he held his head and sweated nervously.

"Wh... What should we do_!_?" Another cried anxiously. They were all dumbfounded by their lord's suicidal actions.

"Now that it's come to this... the only thing we can do is to believe in him, and do as he says..." Ayako said calmly as she slowly stood up from where she had been laying on the ground next to Kasane.

"A-Ayako..._!_?" Kasane said, surprised to see her awake. They all stared at her in astonishment. Not only had she just recovered from a blow that should have knocked her out for hours in a few minutes, but now she, the one who had been most anxious to stop Nobunaga, was saying to just let him go_!_? Ayako stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a sharp whistle.

"Nobunaga's no fool, despite what he would have others believe. We of all people know that the best! Don't worry, I've figured out what he has planned. I'm going to ride out with him—whether he likes it or not—but you lot need to wait here for now. Strip out of your armor, and listen to Lord Nobuyuki until the time comes to act!" Ayako said boldly as a horse that had lost its rider in the fight ran up to her, and Ayako grabbed hold of the saddle and swung her self onto its back, taking off after Nobunaga. _"Nobunaga, you'd better not die on me, because I still haven't paid you back for that stunt you just pulled!"_ Ayako shouted, vein mark throbbing on her head, and emitting an ominous aura as she sped off on her new horse.

"Onihime!" The soldiers cried as they watched the girl ride off in a fury after their lord, like hell on wheels.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Impossible! I don't believe it!" One of Yoshitatsu's soldiers said, shocked.

"Just what are Nobunaga's troops thinking..._!_?" Another asked. The only one following Nobunaga was a golden-haired foreigner... who seemed to be really pissed off...

'Is he acting as bait? Or is this just a diversion...? But would that one rider be chasing after him in such a fury if it was...?' Yoshitatsu wondered as he furrowed his brow in confusion. '—No, no matter what this is, now there's no way I can miss him...!' "_Prepare to fire!"_ He ordered his troops.

"~Uh! Th.. They're going to fire at them! Wh-What should we do_!_?" Kasane asked anxiously as she sweated nervously and waved her arms up and down nervously.

"J-Just calm down!" Kuranosuke told her, also sweating nervously as he and the three fools watched anxiously as the enemy aimed at Nobunaga.

"L-Lord Kanjuuro!" A soldier shouted nervously, hoping Nobunaga's younger brother had something up his sleeve to help their lord. Nobuyuki closed his eyes as he sweated nervously, considered everything Ayako had just told them.

"... Everyone, quickly... take off your armor." Nobuyuki said finally.

"_!_?" The soldiers all gasped in shock and alarm. _"L-Lord Kanjuuro...!"_ was he telling them to just abandon their lord and Onihime_!_?

"This bothers me, too...! But Onihime is right... right now, all we can do is trust in my brother...!" Nobuyuki said, gritting his teeth as he squeezed his hands nervously, praying his brother would be all right. The soldiers glanced nervously at eachother, still feeling uneasy about letting their lord ride off alone.

'Nobuyuki...!' Kasane thought worriedly, understanding how hard it must be to watch while a family member was in danger.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Yo!" Ayako said as she pulled up alongside Nobunaga's horse and waved to him with a mock salute. Nobunaga furrowed his brow as he frowned at her in disapproval.

"Go back, Ayako! I don't want you in danger! That's why I left you with that girl..." Nobunaga said sternly, fuming that Kasane had let Ayako get in to danger after he had ordered her to watch her.

"Don't blame Kasane when not even you could stop me!" Ayako scolded him. "Just so you know, I'm super pissed off that you used my first kiss against me like that, but I'll get you for that later! I've more or less figured out your plan, and if you think I'm letting you go into enemy territory alone, _then think again, because I'm coming with! Wild horses couldn't drag me away from you!"_

"..." Nobunaga said as he stared at her determined face for a moment. As much as he didn't want Ayako out here with him, he knew there was no stopping her now. This girl was a force of nature. "Hmph." Nobunaga said, smirking proudly at his bride to be. "I guess it can't be helped, then. Be careful and stay close as you follow me!" He ordered. He'd scold her for disobeying him later...

"Yes, Sir!" Ayako said, smirking as she tightened her grip on the reigns and fell in line behind Nobunaga.


	45. Nobunaga's Scheme

[Narration]

{setting/stage directions}

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"**English speech."**

—¡–!–¡–!–¡— Scene shift/passage of time.

_A whole line of text like this without quotes is a written letter or something similar._

WORDS IN ALL CAPS AND NO QUOTATION MARKS ARE SOUND EFFECTS.

Flashbacks and changes in POV will be labeled.

Unless stated otherwise, the POV will be third person omniscient.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_..." Nobunaga said as he stared at her determined face for a moment. As much as he didn't want Ayako out here with him, he knew there was no stopping her now. This girl was a force of nature. "Hmph." Nobunaga said, smirking proudly at his bride to be. "I guess it can't be helped, then. Be careful and stay close as you follow me!" He ordered. He'd scold her for disobeying him later..._

"_Yes, Sir!" Ayako said, smirking as she tightened her grip on the reigns and fell in line behind Nobunaga._

* * *

><p>"Nobunaga... will be coming within range!" One of Yoshitatsu's soldiers yelled excitedly as Nobunaga and Ayako galloped towards them.<p>

'Charging at my line of troops from the front, it's impossible for them to break through— Kazusanosuke Nobunaga... just what are you planning_!_?' Yoshitatsu thought, narrowing his eyes as he watched Nobunaga and the blond soldier draw near. Wait... was that a woman_!_? Yoshitatsu's eyes widened in surprise when he realized the lone soldier that had followed Nobunaga on this suicidal run was a woman with golden-hair and green and copper colored eyes that shimmered like jewels in the sun. It was a real shame that she would probably be shot down along with Nobunaga...

_JINGLE~_

The bridle on Nobunaga's horse clinked as he pulled on the reigns. Time seemed to slow down as both sides watched as Nobunaga steered his horse, turning it just before he entered the enemy's firing range, and Ayako followed suit, imitating Nobunaga's actions as though she were an extension of his shadow, and they both took off, dashing full speed, parallel to Yoshitatsu's front line.

"—_Wha..." _Yoshitatsu said, eyes widewith shock.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"_What...!_?" Kasane and the others on Nobunaga's side shouted, stunned.

"When staring down the enemy line... _did they decide to 'run away'!_?" Someone shouted incredulously. As Nobunaga and Ayako continued to gallop along, unperturbed.

"—Uh... No way...!" Nobunaga's soldiers said in disbelief as they paused in stripping out of their armor. "The lord and Onihime... they're...!"

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Hahaha! Just what you'd expect of the 'fool' Nobunaga!" Yoshitatsu's soldiers laughed and jeered smugly. "What a coward, abandoning his own troops to save himself!"

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"_No!"_ Inuchiyo yelled determinedly. "That's not what he's doing!" He said stubbornly, pouting angrily at all the doubters and naysayers.

"Of course not. Even the stupid dog knows that." Kuranosuke said calmly as he continued to remove his armor.

"Inuchiyo! Kuranosuke!' Kasane said. "Th-That's right! And Ayako wouldn't just abandon her friends either! E... Everything will be okay..!" Kasane said anxiously.

"But even so..." Gorouza said thoughtfully, wondering what on earth their lord could have planned.

"Gorouza!" Kasane said, surprised by his unenthusiastic reaction.

"Just what could the lord's goal be..._!_?" Gorouza asked. It was obvious that Ayako had figured it out, but...

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

'Running away..._!_? Is he really that kind of guy...?' Yoshitatsu wondered as he watched, remembering his father's words, and the smug look on the old man's face as he told him he was no match for Nobunaga. "Ghg...!" Yoshitatsu said as he grit his teeth in frustration. 'Think! What could his goal be? It's said that Owari's Nobunaga has owned guns since he was little and is an expert with them. If he is still trying to 'win'—' Yoshitatsu thought. 'And he wants to break through an armed unit like this... where would he strike from..._!_?' Nobunaga suddenly yanked back on his reigns again, and his horse reared up as he turned again, followed by Ayako.

"What..._!_? They're turning again_!_?" Yoshitatsu's soldiers yelled in astonishment as Nobunaga drew his sword and Ayako held her hanbo in one hand, ready for action as she followed after the lord of Owari at a breakneck pace. "Nobunaga is..." They yelled as the lord of Owari raised his sword.

'That's right.' Yoshitatsu thought, his eyes widening slightly in realization.

"_...Coming from the side...!" _Yoshitatsu's soldiers finished yelling as Nobunaga and Ayako charged forth.

'The 'side'_!_!' Yoshitatsu Thought, clenching his fists. 'It's impossible to break through a line of gunmen from the front, but if you can go around to the side of the line, it becomes inherently difficult for the gunmen to fire, and the formation will collapse.' It would be extremely difficult for the gunmen to fire around eachother now... _'But he's forgetting the most important thing..!'_ "—Hah! He's going to stop at the last moment and try to cut his way through_!_?" Yoshitatsu said, smirking. "_All troops, turn!"_ He ordered. 'My gunmen unit is outfitted with the most advance equipment, and it's mounted! You won't flank us so easily_!_!' He thought smugly. "_Encircle Nobunaga!" _He commanded his troops.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"Yoshitatsu's troops are on the move!" One of Nobunaga's soldiers said nervously as they watched their enemy charge towards their lord and Onihime.

"—They're done for! They have them both well and truly trapped...!" Another cried in dismay.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

'Now I've got you, Nobunaga_!_!' Yoshitatsu thought. "Prepare to fire!" He shouted.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

Nobunaga's soldiers clenched their fists in frustration as they watched helplessly.

"He's done for! I can't stand this anymore! I'm going out to save them!" one soldier yelled determinedly.

"M-Me too!" Another shouted.

"Me too!" Another said.

"W...Wait! Right now..." Nobuyuki said hesitantly.

"We can't wait anymore, Lord Kanjuuro! We're here to protect the lord!' A foot soldier told him. "Even if we survive this battle, if the lord dies, then what does it matter_!_?" He shouted as Kasane fidgeted nervously, trying to figure out how to calm them down.

"That's right! Who cares if we're wearing armor or not_!_?" Another soldier shouted. "Let's go everyone!"

"Yeah!" The soldiers cheered.

'—Armor...?' Nobuyuki thought, sweating nervously. 'That's right... why... did brother have us take off our armor...?' He wondered as he glanced at the discarded armor lying on the ground. 'Even Onihime discarded the heavier pieces of hers before—_That's it...!'_ _"Everyone hold!"_ Nobuyuki commanded.

"Nobuyuki!" Kasane said, confused why he was still trying to stop them from aiding his brother and Ayako.

"—Something... I'm sure he's got something more planned..._!_!" Nobuyuki said anxiously.

—¡–!–¡–!–¡—

"He's within range! _Fire!"_ Yoshitatsu ordered.

_BAAANNNG!_!

The great thundering roar of the entire gun line firing was deafening, as Nobunaga gripped the reins of his horse. A shadowy figure flew into the air from behind Nobunaga as the young lord's horse skidded to a sudden stop.

CLANG!

Ayako deflected the bullets that were about to hit Nobunaga with her hanbo, and grabbed onto his shoulder for support as she landed behind him on his saddle, and Nobunaga turned his horse again as a bullet zipped past their ears, before galloping away again with Ayako. Her abandoned horse was now galloping away from the battlefield on its own, as fast as it could.

"_He—he stopped right outside our range... and avoided the attack...!_?" Yoshitatsu yelled incredulously, shocked. It was just impossible! How could that girl have deflected those bullets like that_!_? She couldn't possibly be human! Nobunaga frowned slightly as he furrowed his brow, glancing back at Yoshitatsu's troops.

"_Now!"_ Nobunaga shouted at his personal troops. "_Go!"_ He commanded them. Nobunaga's troops let loose a mighty war cry as they rushed the enemy.

'Impossible...! He pretended to runaway in order to distract us and circle from the side.' Yoshitatsu thought, stunned. 'Then he faced our guns himself so that he could guide my troops away, and avoided fire with the help of that girl—His goal was to use the 'chance' after my troops fired to let his troops attack from the side. Did he also calculate our firing range at the very start..._!_?' Yoshitatsu clenched his fist in frustration. '_He's toying with us..!'_ He thought angrily. 'But it's not over yet!' "Reform!" Yoshitatsu ordered his troops. 'With just one unit, he can't defeat my heavy cavalry—' Yoshitatsu thought as he turned back to face Nobunaga's oncoming troops, only to find that they had already engaged his men in battle, and were pushing them back. _"What...!_?" Yoshitatsu yelled incredulously, beyond shocked. _"When did they reach us...!"_

"_W...We can't!"_ Yoshitatsu's soldiers cried in fear and alarm. "_We can't regroup...!"_ Yoshitatsu growled in frustration as he grit his teeth.

"How_!_? How did they get here so fast_—"_ Yoshitatsu yelled. Then he saw it. 'They... aren't... wearing any armor..._!_?' He thought, shocked.

"My lord! Your safety is paramount!" Two soldiers shouted, grinning enthusiastically as they ran over to cover Nobunaga and Ayako.

'_I can't believe it...!_!' Yoshitatsu thought, beyond livid with anger and frustration. 'With their armor cast off, they gained the speed needed to overtake my troops before we could regroup..._!_?'

Nobunaga smirked. It seems listening to Ayako when she complained about how she'd rather fight with less armor on because it would be easier for her to move without it, and how soldiers from her time focused on mobility during battle when equipping themselves, rather than wearing heavy steel armor anymore, had paid off since it helped him come up with this strategy...


End file.
